The Switch
by BackInBlack99
Summary: When Hermione and Draco wake up in each other's bodies, chaos ensues. Will they set out to make or break the other's reputation? And can they find something more along the way? Pride, pranks, and forbidden temptation...
1. The Switch

**A/N: Just a little idea that i've been thinking about for a while and finally decided to write. Let me know what you think! **

**I know first person stories sometimes don't translate so well, but for the purpose of mine, it seemed the easiest way to go. **

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****Hermione POV:**

"Oh My God."

I froze, staring avidly at my reflection in the mirror. This was a dream. This had to be a dream.

I quickly squeezed my eyes closed, my breath coming in ragged gasps. What I'd just seen – the sheer impossibility of it, the complete abandonment of logic and all sensibility – was causing me to panic. It just couldn't be happening; it was rationally and anatomically unfeasible! But my voice, my voice had sounded strange – rougher, deeper…

I opened one eye cautiously and let out a squeak as the same unnatural sight met my eyes. My hand rose involuntarily to touch my cheek, a thrill of dread rushing through my veins as I felt the cool, smooth skin.

It was real.

Draco Malfoy was standing in my room, in the exact spot where I should be. I had already broken out in a feverish, cold sweat as my brain caught up with my body, coming to the frankly _terrifying_ conclusion that I had turned into Malfoy. But did that mean…? An ice cold numbness was spreading up my spine… It couldn't possibly mean that _he_ had turned into _me_?

I shivered convulsively at the thought of Malfoy wandering round the school in my body and immediately hurried out of the room intent on finding him, not realising in time that navigating a body that was a good five inches taller than my own meant that you had to duck under some doorways.

Fantastic. Now I was Malfoy with a headache.

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**Draco POV**

A loud, impatient hammering dragged me into consciousness.

I mentally cursed the person on the other side of the door as I opened a bleary eye to look at the clock. It was 9:30.

Groaning, I rolled over and tugged my pillow over my head. What the hell did anyone want so early? It was a Saturday for fucks sake. But then the knocking started up for a second time, possible more incessant than before and I couldn't stand to let it go on any longer. Pushing the covers away, I got to my feet and staggered to the door, ready to kill whoever it was that had disturbed my lie in.

I pulled it open moodily and as I looked up, someone with oddly familiar blond hair crashed into my chest, bundling me backwards into the room. I started swearing, but the words caught in my throat as I realised who my assailant was. It was me…

"Shit!" I yelled, leaping over the bed and trying to put as much space between me and my double. I then practically fell over in shock as I heard the sound of my own voice. I was _shrill_.

"What the fuck" I whispered, clutching my throat and staring wildly at the seemingly perfect vision of myself. I must be going mental.

"Draco?" The apparition asked in a hysterical squeak I didn't know I was capable of.

"What the hell are you?" I shouted, horrified all over again as it came out as a high pitched scream.

"Look in the mirror" the thing… me…. replied in a hollow whisper.

I hurried into the bathroom, desperate to find out what was going on. The other Draco followed close behind me with a frightened expression that I hoped hadn't been on my face since I was three and the stupid albino peacocks at Malfoy Manor had attacked me.

The image I saw in the mirror made my blood turn cold. It was literally the last thing in the world I would have expected and more disturbing than I could ever have imagined. Long brown hair, large dark eyes and an alarmingly voluptuous figure; I was looking at an utterly dismayed reflection of Hermione Granger.

For the first time in both our lives, words failed me.

"We've switched" the other Draco croaked, biting down on his bottom lip in a way that was achingly familiar...

"Granger?" I moaned, the realisation hitting me like a train. "You're me?"

Surely that didn't mean I was her? I couldn't be a girl! No fucking way had I turned into that stuck up mudblood.

But she was nodding in an infuriatingly knowing way.

"And I'm you" she agreed. I stared at her in horrified silence.

"_Why_?"

"I have no idea." Hermione suddenly found that she was very angry and very articulate. "But this kind of thing could only be achieved through powerful dark magic, and out of the two of us, I think you're the one who is slightly more clued up on that front. Just look at your stupid family. This kind of prank smacks all over of Slytherin's who think they're being funny but are actually being immature and dangerous."

She folded her arms and surveyed me sternly. It was the weirdest experience being told off by myself and I was slightly taken aback until I realised what she meant.

"You don't think I did this?" I demanded, "Why the hell would I want to be you? I can't imagine anything worse."

"Well I certainly didn't do it" Hermione snapped, "and I'm not exactly thrilled either."

I gaped at her, all of my incredulity suddenly replaced with anger. "At least you get to be me! I definitely got the worst end of this deal. I'm stuck being a frizzy haired mudblood."

"Oh that's rich!" she flared up. "Because you're so great are you? An obnoxious, egotistical ferret!"

Then without warning, there was an ear splitting bang and a dazzling flash of gold seared across my vision.

"Ahhhh!" I yelled, diving across my bed for the second time that morning.

"Fawkes!" Hermione gasped, gazing in astonishment at the great amber bird that had just materialised in the room. Well that was just typical. Granger was on speaking terms with the phoenix.

Picking myself up from the ground I watched as she went over and began stroking Dumbledore's pathetic pet.

"What does it want?" I asked, not bothering to keep the disdain from my voice.

"It's a letter from Dumbledore" she said in surprise, unrolling the piece of parchment that she had taken from the bird's beak. I strode across to her and began reading the thin slanted script. Even in this stressful situation the irony didn't escape me; I was reading over my own shoulder.

_Dear Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger,_

_As I am sure you are aware, this year you have attained the positions of head boy and girl, and, as I am also sure you are aware (being two of the brightest students in the school) you have swapped bodies. _

_What I am about to reveal to you is an ancient Hogwarts tradition, one, though highly weird and wonderful, is not to be taken lightly. This switching of persons is a challenge which is supposed to teach you leadership, tolerance, determination in the face of adversity and an insight into a different world. As have generations of head boys and girls before you, you will spend the rest of the term as each other, attending respective classes and attempting, as much as possible, to fit seamlessly into the other's life. _

_You are forbidden to tell anybody else of this change and if you endeavour to disclose the information in this letter, then you will find yourself unable to speak until you decide to conform. These may seem stringent rules, but they are necessary for the full learning experience, and after a term I am certain you will agree that it was worth it._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Professor Dumbledore_

By the time I had finished reading the letter, everything had started to seem slightly less horrifying and had struck me as having the potential to be comical (sure, it was still deeply disturbing, but being a Slytherin meant that you developed a kind of immunity to messed up situations.)

I turned to look at Hermione, who was visibly seething and began to laugh. Now I knew this wasn't a permanent change, I could see that there might be some advantages to the switch. This could be entertaining. Or, if you preferred to look at it the other way round, deeply uncomfortable for Granger...

"How can you find this funny!" Hermione demanded, her eyes glittering dangerously. "We're stuck being each other for the rest of term! The _rest of term_, Malfoy! What about NEWTS?"

"Don't worry" I smirked, pointing at a line in the letter," it says we'll still be going to lessons and stuff… just you'll be a Slytherin, and I'll be a Gryffindor."

"But this is insane! What could Dumbledore possibly believe we would gain from this?"

"Now think Granger, did you ever express the desire for a penis in front of him?" I drawled.

"You are _unbelievable!" _She snarled, turning on her heel and storming out of the room. I followed after her, entirely at ease. Now this was the kind of thing I could deal with; Granger angry and me being the one who had pissed her off.

"Hey Granger, where are you going?"

"Away from you. You are so impossible!"

I sped up so that I was ahead of her as we reached the doorway. "You can't go out you know."

"And why ever not?" she demanded, attempting to shove past me to the door.

Frustrated, I grabbed her by the wrists and pushed her against the wall. She looked up at me crossly and it dawned on me that in my body she could easily overpower me. Thankfully this didn't seem to have occurred to her yet and she didn't struggle as I stared stonily up at her.

"Because I don't go round throwing hissy fits, and the minute you leave the Head's dormitory, you're not Hermione Granger anymore, you're Draco Malfoy. You'll screw my life up."

"And why shouldn't I screw your life up?" she replied quietly, meeting my gaze with a vicious expression on her face.

"Well quite aside from wanting to please your precious Dumbledore and stick to the stupid rules he created, I could just as easily fuck yours up Granger. And what's more, I'd do it better." I released her wrists and threw her a cold look as I turned to walk back to my room.

A few minutes later, she joined me. Her expression had turned from angry to weary and she slumped down against the wall, wrapping her arms around her knee's.

"Bugger."

"You're bloody right" I muttered, more to myself than to her (I wasn't about to agree with any sentiment a Gryffindor had made.) If she went round in my body throwing tantrums and generally being a hormonal bitch, then my reputation would be ruined. It wasn't a question of messing around with her life anymore, it was making sure she didn't completely destroy mine. If I wanted to get through this year with the title of prince of Slytherin still in tact, then she'd have to undergo a rapid Malfoy crash course.

"Hey Granger" I said, softly this time. "We can do this, alright? All we need to do is act like each other. Just don't ponce around crying, ok?"

She sniffed. "So what are we going to do?"

"We just fit flawlessly into our new lives. You tell me everything about you. I'll tell you everything about me."

Hermione raised an eyebrow and in that instant her expression was exactly one of my own. "Everything Malfoy? Do I really want to know every single detail of your squalid sexual encounters?"

I grinned, the future looking considerably brighter. "It'll be the hottest thing your innocent ears ever heard."

Hermione blanched.

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	2. Know your enemy

**A/N: thanks for all the alerts and favourites. Please review! **

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**Hermione POV**

We'd spent the last six hours holed up in the Head's common room learning as much about each other as possible. At first I had been loathed to tell Malfoy some of my more intimate details, but soon realised that if we were going to pull this off, we had to be completely truthful with one another.

"So what's your father called again?" Draco asked. He was sprawled out on the sofa by the fire, flicking casually through the colour coded notes I had made for him. "You haven't said in here."

"Yes it does" I snapped, looking up from the page I was reading. How he thought I was supposed to concentrate with him interrupting every few seconds Merlin knew. "I made absolutely sure there was a whole section dedicated to family, so just look harder."

"You know, we could just try talking about things" he drawled. "I've heard that speaking is a perfectly acceptable way of conveying information these days."

I glared at him and he smirked back at me in return.

"You know I'm right. It would be much easier to remember that way" he drawled, as he reached for a handful of peppermint imps (we'd had food sent up from the kitchen hours ago, when the prospect of trying to learn the entirety of somebody else's life in a single night had seemed like an impossible venture and Draco had announced that the only way he would succeed was if he had a constant supply of sugary snacks).

"Come on Granger, humour me."

I sighed and put aside his notes. "Fine. We'll talk."

I got up to get myself a cauldron cake – I would need some form of sustenance if I was going to make it through the evening – before sitting down on the opposite sofa. "What do you want to know?"

His smirk widened. "Other than what bra size you wear? I might need to buy some sexier underwear."

"That will _not_ be necessary" I retorted, and then, before I could stop myself – "and you could just look on the label."

Draco immediately began to undo the top buttons of his shirt.

I stared at him, completely aghast. "Malfoy! What on earth do you think you're doing?"

"I'd have thought that was obvious" he leered, continuing to undress.

"Oh my god. I'm a 34C ok? Just stop!" I demanded, blushing at my own words. "Please don't look at my body like that."

Draco paused and looked up at me, a taunting glint in his eye. "We're going to have to see each other naked at some point you know. I'm not letting you walk round in my body without showering for the next term."

"Can't I just wear swimming trunks?" I moaned, suddenly very aware of the new appendages I had in my trousers. I'd spent all day trying not to think about it and had refused to go to the toilet despite the fact that I'd needed to for the last half hour.

Draco folded his arms and quirked an eyebrow. "Come on, don't tell me you haven't been at all tempted to look. Think of it as a perk of the job."

I shot him a disgusted glance. "No, as a matter of fact I haven't."

"And neither have I" he said innocently.

Well, as innocent as he could manage. Even with my face, he was unable to pull off an expression that rendered him above suspicion. I trusted him just about as far as I could throw a Hippogriff.

"Right" I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm sure my body was of absolutely no interest to you."

"None whatsoever." He tipped his head back lazily and gazed up at the ceiling. "You think too much of yourself Granger. Anyway, getting back to my original question before you so impolitely digressed. What's your father's name?"

I counted to ten silently in my head, wondering if the satisfaction I'd get from hexing him would make up for the fact that I'd essentially be jinxing my own body. I decided probably not.

"Peter" I said at length. "And my mum's called Marianne."

"I'm sure you know my parents names" said Draco lightly.

I nodded. "Yes, but it's not like anyone will mention them."

The second the words had left my mouth I regretted it. Draco went very still and from the nervous glance I sent in his direction I saw that he was clenching his fist so hard his knuckles had turned white. After a moments silence he looked up at me and his eyes were stony, threatening me to say more. It sent a chill down my spine to see that expression on my own face. I hadn't realised I had the capacity to look so menacing.

"Go on" he murmured, his voice as sharp and dangerous as shattered glass.

"I didn't mean anything" I faltered. "I just thought people wouldn't talk about them, seeing as they're in –"

"Azkaban." He cut across me harshly. "I know."

"I'm sorry" I said abruptly, feeling a strange rush of compassion. "It must be hard for you."

He looked at me disbelievingly, suspecting mockery. Which, considering the way Harry and Ron goaded him about his family, was hardly surprising. I tried to keep my own expression soft, conveying to him that I wasn't about to laugh at him.

"Yeah" he muttered suddenly. "It is. But what are you going to do about it?"

I opened my mouth and closed it again, unable to think of anything to say.

He let out a hollow laugh.

"What? You got nothing Granger? Must be a Hogwarts' first."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I suggested hesitantly. I wasn't sure if this would be just too bizarre, but felt I had to offer.

His mouth curved into a half smile. "Do you really want to hear about it? It's not like any of the Slytherin's are going to say anything anyway. I've made it perfectly clear that the first person to mention my parents won't see the end of term."

I tried to ignore the part of me that wanted to berate him for threatening his fellow classmates.

"And what should I say if they mention _my_ parents?" I asked, half teasing. I hoped it might coax him into a better mood.

"Just something vaguely unpleasant" he said dully, "you know the kind of thing."

"I'm sure I can remember a few."

He met my eye and the ghost of a grin flickered across his face. "Knowing you Granger, you've written them down and kept them colour coded in case of emergency."

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**Draco POV**

I rubbed my eyes wearily, trying to do it unobtrusively so that Hermione wouldn't have a go at me for slacking and poke me with her wand again (my side still bore the bruises from last time).

We'd resumed reading each other's notes and had been doing it for the last God knows how long. As I flicked over the page to find yet another dense paragraph – screw her subsections and bullet points – my brain begged for suicide. This was not the way I'd foreseen my self spending my Saturday night and I was beyond bored. Granger's life was a pathetically dull affair; no secret boyfriends or skeletons in the closet (preferably Weasley's.)

"This is ridiculous" I muttered, "I've read this bit about your friends at least six times."

Hermione looked up from where she was lying on the rug, her face cupped in her hands.

"Well at least my friends _can_ read. Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't recognise a verb if it came up and punched them in the face. Anyway you need to Read, Remember, Repeat" she finished in a sing song voice. "It's the only way we'll learn all this before Monday."

"Oh come on, what more do I need to know about scarhead?" I said disdainfully. "He's an idiot with no social life and a habit of sticking his nose into other people's business. Plus there's the even more annoying tendency of just not dying, which is actually very ungrateful when we've given him every opportunity to do so."

"_Harry_ is lovely" retorted Hermione, "and compared to your friends totally easy to learn about. I mean, can I even call them friends? I think they have to be human to qualify for that description. And I'm pretty sure Goyle's at least half troll. How on earth am I meant to decipher the inner workings of his mind in under twenty four hours?"

I chuckled. "Honestly, I don't think even he understands the inner workings of his mind. You'd need a lot of patience and intellect to make sense of all that crap – two qualities he is utterly lacking in."

Hermione laughed. "You've never spoken a truer word Malfoy."

We lapsed back into silence, Hermione reading through my notes with a slight frown on her face. I gave up on the whole memorising thing (homework, library, house elves – what more did I need to know?) and concentrated on more important matters; namely, my newly acquired cleavage. I resented having to admit it, but Granger was hotter than I'd given her credit for. Although that just made her even more of a killjoy; having a body like that and only ever wearing regulation school uniform was wasteful, not to mention that it gravely deprived us males of our basic human rights.

"Your notes are useless by the way" she said suddenly, looking up at me reproachfully and bringing a stop to my observations. "What am I supposed to have learnt from this?"

She held up a sheet and waggled it in front of my face.

I shrugged.

"Blaise Zabini" she quoted. "Persuasive, charming, sex obsessed... Is that it? You have nothing more to say about your best friend?"

"There's nothing else you need to know" I smirked. "Hanging out with Blaise is not something you can prepare for."

"Well that totally reassures me" said Hermione sarcastically, "Thanks for inspiring me with confidence."

"Alright" I said, deciding to cut the girl some slack. "You should probably know that he's really talented in lessons, apart from that he's flunking Arithmancy – though not by lack of ability. He sits next to Cho..." I tailed off and grinned.

Hermione shook her head. "Typical Slytherin" she muttered.

"He's also good at Quidditch – he plays chaser – and he hates pumpkin juice, so never pass it to him at breakfast. His birthday's on the 24th of December, he's got an owl called Dexter, he likes muggle rock music... he's holds the Slytherin record for screwing the most amount of girls in one night –"

"What?" Hermione interrupted me. "I can't believe you even have that kind of competition going on!" she grimaced.

"Oh that's not the only one" I said, raising a tantalizing eyebrow.

"You know what? Don't tell me. I'll just hope it doesn't come up."

"I'm sure you'll be able to control yourself" I smirked, staring suggestively downwards.

"Urgh Malfoy! Why are you always so crass?" Hermione made a face and turned away. I noticed with satisfaction that she was blushing.

"So, you think you might enter one of our contests?" I continued lazily, watching as she shifted uncomfortably. "You don't have to go for girls. Blaise doesn't always..."

Hermione seemed to be soothing herself, her lips moving wordlessly. I could almost feel the "Breathe, breathe, breathe" thought waves radiating off her.

"Right" she said a moment later, seemingly composed. "Let's just forget we ever had this conversation and that your such a dick and carry on learning. We can test each other. I'll go first."

"Yes professor."

"What is Ron's favourite meal?" Hermione asked doggedly, ignoring my mocking expression.

"Weasel burgers?" I guessed. She fixed me with a very McGonagallish stare that I didn't enjoy seeing on my own face. I decided to play along.

"Fine... Chicken casserole."

"Good" she said approvingly. "Now you ask one."

"Ok, what's Crabbe's girlfriend called?"

"He has a girlfriend?" Hermione looked astonishment.

I laughed at the sceptical look on her face. "Nah, trick question. But that was the correct amount of incredulity to portray if he tells you he does."

"I was going to say!" said Hermione, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth, "the idea of him with a girlfriend is nauseating."

"It's almost as nauseating as the idea of you and Weasley."

Hermione flushed. "We're not actually going out you know" she said, raising her chin defiantly.

I cocked an eyebrow, surprised. "So he just drools over you for kicks then?"

"No" Hermione replied matter of factly.

And then to my intense astonishment and delight she continued – "He drools because he leaves his mouth open for so long, usually because he can't come up with a witty response to one of my remarks."

I snorted in amusement. "That's the best thing you've said in your life, Granger."

She looked instantly abashed, no doubt discomfited that she'd said something about one of her friends that I'd approved of.

"He's lovely" she said hurriedly, "we just fight a lot."

"Don't worry, in my life you'll soon come to realise that insulting people is much more sensible than pretending they're worth talking to."

"He is worth talking to" she insisted, "but sometimes –" She stopped talking and shook her head. "Never mind."

I watched her with a detached interest, sensing that there was something bothering her about Weasley that she wanted to talk about, but also something preventing her from telling it to me. She was too loyal to him. I thought about my own friends, knowing that aside from Blaise, most of them didn't stick by me because they were loyal, but because they were scared or power hungry. It had never really bothered me much before and if I was honest, it didn't bother me now. The majority of them weren't worth it anyway, a typical trait amongst the Slytherin's being "snivelling minion".

"What about Goyle?" Hermione was saying, inevitably back to leafing through my notes. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, Hannah Abbott."

"_What_?"

I closed my eyes in mock despair. "I know... But rest assured it wasn't because of his natural charm. More to do with a love potion Blaise brewed up for him. It wasn't exactly hard to slip it into her drink, she's not the most observant person on the planet."

Hermione smiled slightly as she turned over the page, only to find she'd got to the end.

"Well I think we pretty much know everything now" she sighed. "Apart from –"

"Sex lives" I drawled, fixing her with an unholy grin. "How long have you got?"

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	3. Into the lion's den

**A/N: thank you for all the support i've been getting for this story :)**

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**Hermione POV**

The next morning I woke up with a looming sense of dread in my stomach and for a shining, blissful moment was unsure as to why. That was until I got up and wondered past my mirror to open the curtains. Being greeted by a vision of yourself wearing nothing but boxers and with tousled blond hair that is most definitely not your own, isn't something you want to experience (let along before breakfast).

Once I'd recovered myself and remembered that I was stuck in Draco's body – I determinedly avoided the fact that it was actually a very toned, lean body – I was faced with a new and entirely more embarrassing problem. I desperately needed the toilet. I was saved from figuring out essentials such as how to aim however, by the arrival of the actual Draco, who staggered into the room wearing a flimsy nightdress I was unaware of owning and crashed down on my bed.

"Morning" he mumbled, his face pressed into my pillow.

"Where did you find that?" I demanded, staring accusingly at his lace covered back. I then had to suppress a laugh at the idea of Draco Malfoy wearing pink negligee.

"It's not yours" he said, rolling over to face me and grinning. "Pansy left it in my room ages ago and you're both the same size."

"That's disgusting" I grumbled, "how many different girl's underwear do you have stashed about the place like some perverted collection of trophies?"

"That depends what you count as underwear. Most of it's too skimpy to be classed as clothing..." He gazed down at his cleavage and up at me with a wink. "You know if I was me right now Granger, I'd be extremely turned on by this situation."

"This situation would _never happen_ if we were in our normal bodies" I retorted.

"Don't kid yourself Granger; it's obvious you want me. Your body's attracted to mine even if your brain doesn't realise it."

"So you're basically saying you're attracted to yourself right now?" I pointed out, unable to believe that even Malfoy was that narcissistic.

"No" he said, but after a long enough to pause to imply that he was seriously considering the idea, "but it is interesting being able to see my hair from all angles. Does it really stick up at the back like that in the morning?"

"How would I know?" I snapped. "Why don't you ask one of your many conquests."

"Is that jealousy I detect?" he asked, as he pushed himself off the bed and stood up.

"In your dreams, Malfoy."

He stretched luxuriously. "I'm about to achieve one of my life long dreams actually."

Confused, I watched as he wandered over to the door and was about to ask what he meant when he turned back to face me and smirked at my questioning look.

"I'm off to take a shower" he explained.

I shuddered at the unsuppressed glee in his voice. "Well I'm off to the toilet" I muttered, "wish me luck."

Grabbing my wash bag off the bedside table I followed after him, thinking it was a far greater think I did now than I'd ever done before.

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After getting dressed and mentally staunching myself for my first day as a Slytherin, I left my room and went down stairs to the common room. It looked surprisingly messy for once, empty chocolate frog wrappers from the night before and all of our notes scattered here and there amongst the armchairs. Usually Malfoy and I kept entirely out of each other's way, one of his favourite saying being "I don't want your filthy belongings touching my stuff".

But today he was waiting for me by the door, leaning against the wall in a leisurely fashion that made me want to scream at him or punch him or both. How he could be so relaxed when I felt like my stomach was taking a trip to the dungeons was beyond me.

"You ready Granger?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I watched as he pushed himself off the wall and sauntered towards me. It was totally disconcerting to see myself _saunter_, something I was sure I had never done in my entire life.

I folded my arms and frowned at him. "You're going to have to stop swaggering everywhere Malfoy or people will know you're not me" I told him. "Unlike you, I'm not an arrogant prat with an attitude problem."

He immediately switched to a confident walk where he swayed his hips exaggeratedly from side to side – I sincerely hoped he hadn't been practising it – whichlooked doubly absurd.

"Better?" He enquired with mocking expression.

"I _don't_ walk like that either" I retorted, exasperated by his utter lack of cooperation and the way he seemed intent on goading me. "Just act normal, ok?"

"Normal is not a word I would associate with you Granger" he drawled. "Are we going then or not?"

"Yes" I said, deciding to let the many things I wanted to say to him go, and picked his wand up from the table (though I had been loathed to hand it over to him, we'd swapped wands the night before).

"We'll go to our respective houses and spend some time with each other's friends" I said, switching into action mode. "Then in the afternoon we can meet back here and see how it all went. We'll discuss what we need to do to make everything more convincing, what we did wrong and what went well."

"Please stop" said Draco dryly, "any more excitement and I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it."

I threw him a dirty look and made for the door. "Just do it alright? This is the most difficult part. Let's get it over with as quickly as possible."

"Is that what you say to Weasley?" he jeered, walking after me with hands in his pockets.

"Go to hell Malfoy" I scowled, yanking the door open and striding off down the passageway.

"In this body? As if they'd let me in."

I spun round, unable to brush off yet another snide comment. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

"You should take it as a compliment" he smirked, setting off in a direction completely opposite to the Gryffindor common room. "Only _fallen_ angels end up in hell."

I stared after my own retreating figure – this was going to take some getting used to – wondering if he was going to make ambiguous comments like that the whole term and doubting very much that it had been flattering.

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**Draco POV**

I walked towards the Gryffindor portrait hole, sincerely hoping that someone would open it from the inside before I had to say the ridiculous password.

"Yes dear?" said the Fat Lady, staring down at me expectantly. I'm not joking, that was her actual name. I mean, who advertises that kind of characteristic about themselves?

"Sleigh bells" I grumbled, resenting the festive season more than ever as she swung open with a cheerful "and Merry Christmas to you too, grumpy guts!"

The second I entered the common room, joy of joys, Potter bounded up to me with a stupid grin plastered all over his stupid face. I attempted to look vaguely happy to see him.

"Guess what Mione?" he said, practically exploding with happiness (I wished that he would). "Ginny said yes!"

I quickly tried to remember if Hermione had told me anything about Potter and the Weasley girl and not coming up with anything, decided to play it safe.

"Yes to what?" I asked, temporizing.

"The Yule Ball, silly" said Harry, rolling his eyes. "We're going together!"

"Oh." I presumed this was cause for celebration seeing as there actually seemed to be a girl on the planet who'd agreed to date him. "Good."

Harry grinned. "It's brilliant. Thanks so much for telling me what to say. Totally averted a Cho like disaster."

He moved forward to put an arm round me and I hastily backed away. I'd hug Potter when hell froze over.

"That's really great" I mumbled, "but um... I have to get my homework off Weas – Ginny..."

I hurried away towards the stairs, noticing as I passed that the Gryffindor common room was a lot cosier than the Slytherin one. It was full of squishy armchairs and faded red tapestries, giving the whole place a homey feel. Ours was all green and silver; even the fire burned with emerald tinted flames. Personally I preferred it. This lurid colour scheme was giving me a headache.

I made my way up to the sixth and seventh year dormitory and when I reached the door that Hermione had instructed me to go to, I pushed it open unenthusiastically, expecting to find it full of Granger's nerdish friends who had nothing better to do on a Sunday night than stay in.

But the sight that met my eyes was so different to the image of girls doing homework that I'd conjured up last night in a moment of despondency (I'd just realised I wouldn't get laid for the next term) that my jaw dropped in astonishment.

There were girls wandering around in their underwear, girls painting each others nails and giggling, some of them wrapped only in towels as they moseyed in and out of the bathroom. I half expected them to break out into a pillow fight at any moment.

A grin spread across my face. There might not be many, but here was a definite advantage to being Hermione Granger. I silently thanked Dumbledore and made a mental note to gloat about it to Blaise when all this was over.

"Hermione!"

A girl in a frilly bra was rushing towards me and before I had time to arrange my face into a less leery expression she had thrown her arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug.

"You haven't been here in forever! It's so good to see you" Ginny babbled, blissfully unaware of the effect she was having on me.

"Hi" I grinned, genuinely happy to see the Weasley girl (topless being the over riding factor, but if I was being honest her face wasn't too bad either. Which was pretty astonishing seeing as her elder brother was so incredibly repulsive).

"What have you been up to?" she asked, dragging me over to her bed – the irony was killing me – and sitting down. "It can't do you any good being in the Head's dormitory with Malfoy the whole time. How do you cope?"

"I dunno, he's alright actually" I defended myself, a tad preoccupied with her cleavage.

"_What_?" She stared at me incredulously.

"I was joking" I amended, reluctantly looking up and meeting her eye. "He's a complete dick."

"Well yeah" said another girl – Lavender something – coming to sit down next to Ginny. Now I had two girls in their underwear on my bed. This was like my favourite fantasy. "But you've got to admit he's gorgeous Hermione."

"No" I said firmly, trying to keep in role. Personally, I was inclined to agree with her. It was just one of those undeniable facts of life.

"But he's hot" she argued, "I mean look at those eyes. God, there's something so_ sexy_ about them."

The girl really had an excellent point.

"I guess" I said out loud, knowing full well that my attempt to look unconvinced was pretty poor.

"You're not bringing him to the party tonight are you?" asked Ginny suspiciously.

"What party?"

Lavander laughed. "Honestly Hermione, you do know that it's first game of the season today right? Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff."

"Err, sure" I said, "Quidditch. Obviously."

"And we're having a party in the common room afterwards to celebrate" said Ginny. "Dean and Seamus are sneaking some food and alcohol up from the kitchens."

There was no need to ask how they knew they'd win. It was Hufflepuff after all – victory was yet another undeniable fact.

"Count me in" I decided. It wasn't like Hermione could be angry with me opting to spend more time with her friends and I could use a drink.

"What? You don't have too much homework? No Library books that need returning?" Lavander was smirking.

Now here was a chance to keep up Granger's reputation. "I've been working all weekend" I said, trying to sound eager rather than aghast at the idea. "I think I need a break."

"It's about time!" said Ginny, getting up and walking over to the wardrobe. "All we need to do now is find you a killer outfit."

* * *

**Hermione POV**

After about half an hour of getting lost down winding, dark passageways due to Draco's terrible directions – "go down the steps and then carry on for a bit" did _not_ constitute as helpful instructions – I had found my way to the Slytherin common room. It was unbelievably cold and damp in the dungeons and I couldn't help feeling that perhaps the Slytherin's had good reason for being so grumpy all the time. Saying the password – I had been unsurprised and only a little bit offended to hear that it was "Mudblood" (the insult wore off after the thousandth time of hearing it) the stone wall slid aside and I entered a large, high ceilinged room that was furnished with old fashioned mahogany armchairs and silver framed portraits. A flickering green fire hissed in the hearth and the guttering light from a dozen candelabra's danced on the walls. I shivered, this time not from the cold, and walked timidly over to the grand stairway.

There was no-one in the common room apart from a few first years sitting by the fire (I noted that most of them shot me fearful glances as I passed) so I supposed that Zabini must be in the boy's dormitory. I climbed up the stairs and when I arrived outside the correct room I took a deep breath, feeling decidedly less brave than I should do in a six foot tall body, and opened the door.

To my embarrassment I found myself facing a topless Blaise Zabini standing in the centre of the room with nothing but a towel wrapped carelessly around his waist. I stopped and gaped at him, feeling a mixture of aversion and helpless attraction – there was no denying that he was completely gorgeous however much of a jerk he was.

"Hey Draco" he called, when he looked up and saw me. "How's it going?"

"Good" I mumbled, unable to draw my eyes away from his body.

Blaise noticed where I was looking and grinned. "Stop staring at me man. I mean I know I'm sexy, but there's a time and a place."

"S -sorry" I stuttered, hastily trying to focus on something that made Draco appear less gay.

"I was joking" said Blaise, raising an eyebrow and walking over to me. "Are you alright mate?"

"Yeah, fine. Erm, what's going on?" I asked, my attempt at a blasé entrance not going as well as I'd hoped.

"Not a lot" he said cheerfully, rubbing his head with a towel so that his hair fell messily into his eyes. "You want to go find some girls?"

"_What_?"

I knew I was staring at him with a panicked expression. Draco hadn't mentioned anything about having to pick up girls. He could at the very least have prepared me with a couple of chat up lines! But then again, what had I expected? Draco was a notorious player. It's just that when he'd talked about keeping up his reputation, I thought he'd meant the whole terrorizing first years side of things. It hadn't occurred to me I'd have to start swaggering everywhere and flirting with anything that wore make up and had a pulse.

"Chang and her friends are having a party" Blaise was saying – I looked resolutely away as he removed his towel and didn't dare turn back round until he had put some boxers on. "I thought we could gate crash."

"I kind of have some stuff I need to get done" I lied, watching as he pulled on a pair of black jeans and buttoned up his shirt.

"You can do that later" he objected, pocketing his wand and heading for the door. "This is Chang we're talking about."

"But I'm going on a head's mission with Granger" I invented desperately.

"A mission? Sounds cool." Blaise grabbed my shoulder and pushed me out of the room. "But this is better."

"Fine" I sighed. How would I explain it to Draco if I abandoned his best friend?

"So what's the deal with you and Granger anyway?" Blaise asked, sauntering down the stairs and into the common room. "You've been spending loads of time shut up in the head's dormitory. Are you shagging her?"

"No!" I said indignantly. Perhaps a little too vehemently.

Blaise looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Come on. I know you've had your differences, but she's not unattractive. What's the problem?"

"It's Granger" I said with a forced grin. "She'd probably make me grade her on her performance afterwards."

Blaise chuckled. "That's kind of hot you know. She's got the whole prim on the outside, kinky on the inside thing going on."

"Huh" I said shortly, biting back a frosty retort and the urge to hex him into oblivion.

"Well if you don't, I will" he shrugged, pushing open the door to the dungeon passageway. "It can be my next challenge."

Despite the highly stressful situation and the prospect of having to hit on numerous girls, I smiled inwardly. Blaise had effectively just decided to seduce his best friend.

"Go for it" I said casually, for the first time pulling off a smirk that was pure Draco.

Blaise grinned, looking pleased with his idea and then launched into a story about Hannah Abbott being strangled by a venomous Tarantacula.

* * *

**Draco POV**

I made my way back to the Head's dormitories, unable to keep the grin off my face. If this was going to be my life for the next term, then I was one lucky man. Free access to girls changing rooms, toilets and bedrooms was something all of my friends would kill for, and here I was being handed it on a small, Granger shaped platter. No effort required.

Life was good.

When I entered my bedroom I was surprised to find Hermione riffling industriously through my wardrobe, a mountainous pile of trousers and shirts sprawled out over the bed behind her. As she turned to face me, I met a sight that caused my happy mood to evaporate as quickly as it took Goyle to eat dinner (in case you're wondering, that's pretty fast.)

"What in God's name have you done to my _hair_?" I hissed, staring at the neatly combed side parting in horror.

Hermione smiled and ran a hand through her slicked back blond hair with satisfaction.

"Made it look decent for once" she declared, ignoring my outraged spluttering and walking over to the bed.

"This will do I think" she said, picking up a pair of ridiculous corduroy trousers I was flabbergasted I even possessed and a stiff collared blue shirt that looked like it had never been worn. And for very good reason. I mentally congratulated myself on not succumbing to my mother's horrendous fashion sense.

"You can't wear that" I moaned, watching as she put the clothes over one arm and headed for the door. I moved backwards to block her way.

"I'm being serious Granger. I would not be seen dead in that outfit."

She smiled sweetly. "Well as long as I'm in your body Malfoy, I'm wearing what I like. Zabini and I are going to this Ravenclaw party tonight, so I presume you'll want to look your best for Cho and her brainless friends."

"You think that's my best?" I demanded. "That's the kind of thing you'd want _your_ boyfriend to wear. And yes, it might look good on a sad loser like Weasley, but there's no way in hell I'd be seen dressed in that monstrosity."

Hermione's eyes had become two grey slits. "Do you really think that insulting me will get me to change my mind Malfoy? I'm wearing it to the party and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Oh really?" I growled, my competitive nature screaming at the sign of a challenge.

"Really." She spat.

"Well let's just see about that." I strode over to my four poster and got down on my knees. I knew that the last time Pansy had been in my room for a late night rendezvous she'd left an extremely revealing outfit under the bed. I swept my hand around until I caught hold of a piece of silky soft material and jerked it out, grinning vindictively.

"Here's a little something I'm sure Weasley would appreciate" I snarled, holding up the black, satin dress on one finger and watching with malicious enjoyment as Hermione turned pale.

"You cannot possibly wear that in public" she said, her expression tense.

"Just watch me" I smirked, pulling my robes over my head and tossing them in her face. I stripped down to my underwear and then wriggled into the – you could barely call it a dress – before walking over to the mirror to admire myself. It clung spectacularly to Hermione's curves and had a very low cut front – the jaw dropping shortness was just an added bonus. Granger looked hotter in it than Pansy had, I thought with surprise.

"I look like a slut" said Hermione, anger causing her voice to shake. "That fabric is completely see through!"

"Something I'm sure the Gryffindor boys will be grateful for" I leered.

"Fine." she said coldly.

I met her eyes in the mirror and found she was glaring at me with fierce determination. "Fine. If you want to play like that Malfoy, we'll play like that. Just say goodbye to your reputation now, because you won't be able to see it again through all the mud."

I laughed incredulously. "You think my name will be mud? I think you'll find you're the dirty one." I emphasised my point by hitching the dress up even higher. "Who'd have thought Hermione Granger had such low standards."

"Urgh!" she cried, shooting me a sickened look and stamping out of the room.

"Urgh?" I yelled after her. "And you call yourself loquacious."

I winced as she replied by slamming the door shut with bone shattering force. God, what was it with girls and doors?

But hey, there was no point standing around and worrying about Granger's hormone balance; I had a party to go to.

And a pristine reputation to destroy.

* * *

**So, the games begin...**

**Let me know what you think. **


	4. Revenge is sweet

**A/N: wow, i'm not sure i've ever updated this quickly before! But i'm getting really in to writing this story :) **

* * *

**Draco POV**

The fourth firewhiskey had probably been a mistake, I reflected, as I lay slumped in an armchair by the fire. The heat from the flames felt way too hot against my skin and I was feeling sick and uncomfortable, but too exhausted to move. They were making a stupid amount of noise as well – hissing and crackling to such an extent that I was convinced someone was keeping the fire alight just to piss me off. Thankfully, the room had finally stopped spinning, but I was now getting a nauseous headache and a throbbing pain behind my eyes that indicated the beginnings of an awesome hangover.

Vaguely, through a fuzzy haze, I tried to remember what had happened the night before, but all my brain supplied was a swirl of images – Potter trying to drag me away from the dancing crowd, Weasley storming out the portrait hole, me on a broomstick, and drinking. A hell of a lot of drinking.

"Hermione?"

The sound was thunderous, grating to my fragile ears. I heaved an eye open, the effort tremendous. Potter's grinning face swam into focus above me.

Groaning, I closed my eyes again.

"Hermione, you have to get up."

"No" I grumbled, my voice rough. "Leave me alone."

"Lessons start in ten minutes."

I made an indistinct noise.

"Huh, I thought that would have got her up for sure." Another voice this time, I thought perhaps it was the Weasley girl.

"She must be really hung over."

"Caught on have you?" I rasped.

Potter laughed and if I'd known where my wand was, I would have hexed him.

"Come on" he said. "I'll get you a glass of water and then we'll sort you out. Ginny, go get her some breakfast."

"Urrrrrhhh" I groaned, shaking my head with supreme exertion. The idea of food made me want to hurl.

"I'm taking that as a no" Ginny said and then hands were on my shoulders and someone was pulling me into a sitting position. "Mione you have to work through the pain. Snape will kill you if you're not in Potions."

Work through the pain? That was the most ridiculous statement I'd ever heard. What was the hell was wrong with the Gryffindors? Did they actually enjoy suffering? After Slytherin parties we'd spend the whole of the next day recuperating in the common room, respecting each others headaches. If anyone so much as breathed loudly they'd find themselves hit with an impressive range of creative and unpleasant curses; punishment for breaking the self pitying silence. And clearing up the mess was a definite no. Empty bottles and smashed objects were left for the house elves to tidy away, whilst first years failing to manoeuvre pools of vomit was not our problem. They either liked it or lumped it (no pun intended). We definitely did not work through the pain.

My two happy helpers seemed to have gone away by this point and I lay there pathetically, wondering if I'd ever feel like eating again. But after a couple minutes of feeble groaning, Potter was back. Under normal circumstances that would call for even more groaning, but he was waving a cup of something that smelled strangely tempting under my nose.

"Drink this."

Taking the goblet with a mumbled thanks, I took a sip of the honey coloured liquid and immediately felt my headache alleviate slightly.

"What is this stuff?" I asked.

"Just a hangover cure that Fred and George came up with. They created it right after Umbridge arrived because people were drinking themselves stupid to forget about the old hag."

I started to laugh but stopped myself immediately when a splitting pain shot through my head. I finished the drink and when I looked up, Ginny was climbing back through the portrait hole with an armful of clothes.

"I had to bang on the door of the head's dormitory for ages before Malfoy would let me in. He looked like crap" she finished happily.

Looked like Granger had had an equally eventful time. The thought of her getting smashed made me want to laugh again, but I knew better than to risk it this time. Then I thought something that made me sober up quicker than any amount of Potter's miracle remedy. What the fuck had she done last night?

"Hermione are you ok? You just went really pale. Do you think you're going to be sick?" Potter had hurried over and put a hand on my back. It took all my will power not to flinch away and punch him.

"Just caught on to what you were saying" I lied. "What if I miss Potions?"

"Ok, now we know you're better!" laughed Ginny, handing me the skirt, blouse and robe she was carrying. "Come upstairs with me and get dressed and if you hurry you might not be too late."

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Potter asked.

Yeah, I thought sarcastically. The boy who bloody lived fussing round me when I felt like death was exactly what I needed.

"No" I said firmly. "You go on."

As I went upstairs with Ginny, staggering slightly, I thought about the fight with Granger and what might have happened last night. This morning my anger had faded away and I was starting to regret having provoked her so much. I didn't think I'd done anything too outlandish in my drunken state, but she could have flung herself naked from the Astronomy tower for all I knew. I wasn't sure if I'd ever seen her so pissed off before. It was evident that I needed to find her as soon as possible so we could get back to not destroying each others lives. But there was one thing I had to sort out first.

"Hey Weas – Ginny" I asked. "Er, what exactly happened with Weas – Ron last night?"

She paused on the landing and turned to face me, smirking. "I was wondering if you'd remember that."

I grimaced at her expression. "What did I do?"

"Well, saying he was pretty enthralled by your dress would be the understatement of the century. When did you get that by the way? Its way cuter than anything else you own." She smiled teasingly. "But you seemed to be somewhat preoccupied with Seamus to pay him much attention. Oh no, you didn't kiss or anything..."

She'd interpreted my aghast look correctly. The idea of doing anything with Finnegan was repulsive.

"But you danced with him the whole time and Ron just couldn't handle it."

"That's not so bad" I mused out loud. Granger couldn't be too upset with anything I'd done.

"Especially as you're not even going out with Ronald" said Ginny. "You don't owe my darling brother anything. It was good to see you having fun for once though; I was starting to think Malfoy was abusing you or something."

I snorted. "Yeah, he's a monster."

Ginny looked at me thoughtfully. "You have been acting weirdly the past few days. I mean, since when did you start wearing miniskirts and getting drunk at parties? In fact, when did you start going to parties at all? Me and Lavender always try and get you to come but you always say you've got too much work."

"I don't know. Maybe Malfoy's been spiking my morning pumpkin juice."

I felt vaguely annoyed that she was trying to pin all this on me. But at the same time I was kind of satisfied to hear that my efforts to piss the Gryffindors off had worked so successfully. They obviously thought I was the route of all evil.

"How come you think it's got anything to do with him?" I asked. "Why can't I just have decided that I want a bit of fun?"

"Because you've never uttered that sentiment in you're life Granger" said Ginny shrewdly. "There's something going on and I'm going to find out what it is."

Great. Now I had the redhead on my case too.

* * *

**Hermione POV**

Malfoy was such a dick. I don't know why I'd disillusioned myself into thinking this thing could work, when we'd never got on in seven years at Hogwarts. Why would he have magically turned into a gentleman just because we'd switched bodies? He was the same arrogant, foul git he'd always been, and now he was planning to destroy my life.

I marched along the fourth floor corridor, ignoring the murmured complaints from the portraits ("You're out after hours you know!") and continued on my way to meet Blaise outside the Ravenclaw common room. If Malfoy was going to the Quidditch after party dressed in that pathetic excuse of a dress, then I was turning up at Cho's in the most un-Malfoyish outfit I could lay my hands on. Corduroy trousers and a formal shirt had been the best I could find, stuffed away at the back of his wardrobe, but I'd slicked his hair back to such an extent that I hoped he'd be the laughing stock of the school. If he was going down, then he was most definitely _not_ going down in style.

As I rounded the corner I caught sight of Blaise loitering at the end of the corridor, hands stuffed into his jeans pockets. He looked up as I approached and raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"Been taking fashion tips from Granger?" he asked.

"I'm just trying out a new look" I said, ignoring the jibe. "It's all the rage with muggles at the moment."

Blaise's eyebrows disappeared under his hair. "Well you wouldn't want to doubt the muggles now would you."

"Not at all." I smiled unctuously.

"Are you wearing it for a bet?" he asked, staring at the trousers with distaste. "Because I've told you not to make bets with Flint. Not after what happened with that Hippogriff that time."

(I decided not to ask).

"Nope" I said. "I happen to think it looks good."

"Are you pissed?"

"Sober as I've ever been" I said cheerfully.

"Right." He shot me a disbelieving look. "Shall we go in then? If you're ok with committing social suicide that is."

"Lead the way" I grinned. That was the plan after all.

He eyed me oddly for a moment before shaking his head and turning to the statue. After muttering a password, the figure came to life and stepped aside to reveal a doorway.

"You sure you don't want to get changed?" he asked over his shoulder as he turned the handle. "And that you haven't sustained brain damage?"

"Quite sure."

"Well I suppose if anyone can pull it off, you can."

We entered the common room, which had pale blue walls and bronze furnishings and would have been quite nice, save for the group of sluttily dressed Ravenclaw girls dancing to a loud pounding rhythm in the centre of the room, an array of bottles strewn at their feet.

The moment I stepped through the doorway, at least five of them hurried over to me and I realised what Blaise had meant about being able to pull it off. It was no wonder Draco had such an inflated ego when he appeared to have such a sickeningly large fan club, all of which appeared relentlessly adoring. It was obvious that it was going to take a great deal more than a nerdy outfit to destroy his reputation.

"Draco I love you're hair!" A pretty sixth year whose name I thought was Arianna cooed, capturing the position on one side of me. At the same time, a tall blond girl bore down on me from the left, attempting to grab the rest of my attention with perfectly manicured pink nails. I began to feel extremely claustrophobic. Craning my neck, I tried to see if I could spot Blaise anywhere in the crowd, but he'd disappeared. No doubt mobbed by his own swarm of scantily clad supporters.

"Erm, I'm just going to get I drink" I said, pushing my way out of the circle of girls.

"I'll get it for you." Cho's friend Marietta was fluttering her eyelashes shamelessly at me. "Firewhiskey with a twist of lime. That's your favourite right? I remember from last time." She smirked round at the other girls.

"Er, yeah" I said, thinking how much I detested firewhiskey. It made the best of wizards to the worst of things.

"You look cute" Arianna was saying, gazing at me with her head tilted to one side thoughtfully. In fact, they all seemed to be watching me expectantly and I had a nasty feeling they were waiting for me to choose one of them, though God knew what for. I was rapidly starting to realise I was way out of my depth – Draco was evidently much more charming than I'd given him credit for.

I decided it was time to see if acting like a complete socially incompetent prat would ruin his image. But before I could even make one bungling comment, someone had laid a hand on my arm and was whispering in my ear.

"Draco. Where have you been hiding yourself?"

I looked down to find Cho smiling up at me, her long dark hair falling in glossy curls to her waist. At her appearance, the other girls started to drift away, muttering to one another and looking sulky.

"Cho" I smiled back. She was the perfect target on which to launch my campaign.

"Hasn't anyone offered you a drink?" She asked, at the same time pressing a bottle of firewhiskey into my hand. "We can't have our favourite Slytherin bored now can we?"

I was about to make a remark about my love of muggles or on the state of potion pollution in Britain today (If that didn't put people off Draco then nothing would) when Cho put her hand somewhere else that was decidedly _not_ my arm.

"Come and see me later" she murmured, before winking and sashaying off back into the crowd.

Utterly stunned, I did the only reasonable thing left to do and took a huge gulp of Firewhiskey. As the alcohol burnt my throat and brought tears to my eyes, I couldn't help thinking that if I was going to get through tonight I needed bloody continental courage let alone Dutch.

* * *

I was curled up on the sofa, nursing a terrific hangover when someone banged loudly on the door. Cursing and getting unsteadily to my feet, I lurched over to open it, clutching my head in my hand. I was surprised to find Ginny standing in the passageway outside.

"Malfoy" she said coldly, brushing past me none too gently. "I'm here to get some clothes for Hermione."

"Sure" I said, following her back into the room and collapsing on the sofa. I couldn't deal with Ginny right now, or pretending to be Draco, or any of it. All I wanted to do was sleep.

"What? No crass comment today?" Ginny shot at me, making her way up the stairs to the bedrooms.

"No. I'm all out." I mumbled.

A couple of minutes later she had reappeared with a bundle of clothes in her arms and was nearly out of the door before she paused and turned round to face me again. Her expression was steely.

"And just so you know, I'm on to you. I don't know what you've said or what you've done to Hermione but she's acting weird at the moment and all I can think is that it's your fault."

I gazed back at her blankly, not having the faintest idea how to respond.

"Don't try and pull that innocent crap on me Malfoy, I know you're behind this and I'm going to make sure that you can't do anything else to mess her up."

"Fine. I – Ginny, I –"suddenly I had the strongest urge to burst into tears. But when I looked up she'd already gone. This day was getting worse and worse and I hadn't even found out what Draco had done at the party yet.

But Ginny had been here to get him _new clothes._ Which meant something had happened to his old ones…

"Crap" I groaned. "And I've still got a whole bloody term of this to go."

I must have fallen asleep again after that, because when I woke up I found myself wrapped in a warm, woven quilt. I snuggled down into it, blissfully unaware for a brief moment as to where I was (and more significantly) who I was. It was then that I realised someone was sitting watching me from the opposite sofa.

"Draco?" I gasped, startled. Sitting up hurriedly, I pulled the rug up to my chin.

"Relax Granger; I've seen it all before." Draco was sitting with his legs propped up on the coffee table, arms folded.

I looked down; I seemed to be wearing pyjamas, something I'd most definitely not put on.

"Did you? I mean… was it you who-?"

"You wish" he smirked, lazily toying with the galleon he was holding. He rolled it from one knuckle to the other. "One of the house elves did it."

"Oh."

We sat in silence for a moment.

"So… what did you get up to last night?" I ventured, praying desperately that Draco wouldn't strip off and show me some hideous tattoo of a thestral.

"Actually, not a lot."

"What?" I didn't try to hide my surprise. "I thought you went to the Quidditch after party?"

"I did" he said. "If you could call it a party."

"But Ginny came here for new clothes" I said, still suspicious. "You didn't streak round the grounds or something did you?"

He grinned. "Not this time Granger, but thanks for the idea."

I narrowed my eyes and lapsed back into silence. He stared at me consideringly.

"You know that Weasley is completely in love with you right? It's pathetic really."

"No he's not" I snapped, grateful that he hadn't done anything too bad last night but not up to bantering when I had a hangover – one of the few I'd ever had.

"Yes he is" said Draco, with an annoying air of superiority. "He practically went puce when I was dancing with Finnegan."

"You _danced_ with Seamus? You said you hadn't done anything!" I groaned. "What else did you do? I knew you wouldn't be able to resist destroying my life Malfoy. You're such a git!"

"It was only a dance" said Draco carelessly, "it's not like I got off with him or something. Urgh, just saying that sentence makes me want to vomit."

"Well I don't go round dancing with random people!" I said, my voice shaking. I felt close to tears again, even though I knew it was stupid. "I happen to be less of a slut than some and save flirting for guys I actually like."

"You _flirt_?" Draco snorted.

"Oh just shut up!" I snapped, "Why don't you just go screw Ron for me and be done with it?"

"Jesus Hermione, calm down. I won't dance with anyone again, alright?"

The use of my name sobered me up somewhat. Draco only ever used it when he absolutely had to.

He stood up and came to sit down on the couch next to me.

"Look" he said, and I was surprised at how serious his voice sounded. "Last night was stupid. Let's not try to destroy each other's lives from now on, ok? Just don't tell me what _you _did last night" he grimaced, "and we'll forget about it."

I smiled slightly at his expression. It looked like he was as worried about what I'd done than I'd been about him. It would have been fun to leave him hanging, but I felt I should own up considering he was being so reasonable for the first time in his life.

"I didn't do anything either" I told him. "I kind of wore the corduroy trousers you hate and your hair definitely wasn't the way you like it, but it didn't seem to stop about a million girls harassing me all evening."

Draco grinned at my words.

"And I got completely pissed" I continued glumly, my headache a constant reminder of the ocean of firewhisky I'd drunk to forget about Cho. "See, I was keeping up your reputation. That's the kind of thing you do, right?"

"Something like that" Draco smiled, and for once it was a genuine smile, not a smirk. I smiled back.

"So a truce then?" I asked him.

"Truce" he agreed.

And the monumentity of the moment was such (I doubted a Slytherin and a Gryffindor had ever made a truce before in the entire history of Hogwarts) that Draco didn't feel the urge to insult me for the rest of the day.

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	5. Regrettable truths

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**Draco POV**

"Hermione!"

For the sake of courtesy I knocked once on her door before storming into her bedroom, my bad mood seeming to intensify at the sight of her sat serenely at her desk, doing homework.

All day I'd had excruciating stomach pains. This morning I'd felt sure that yelling at a group of first years in the Gryffindor common room would cheer me up a bit, especially as I'd dissolved two of them to tears. But the unsettling thing was, after I was out the portrait hole I'd felt a huge surge of guilt and had almost gone back to apologise. Apologising was something I'd never felt the need to do in my life, remorse not an emotion that Malfoy's did well. So what the hell was going on?

"How come you didn't come find me?" I snapped, striding over to Hermione's desk and dumping my school bag down on the floor. "I thought you were going to help me with my Ron Problem."

She looked up at me, bemused. "Merlin Draco, what's got into you?"

"Nothing, although Weasley's been trying to..." I growled.

"You're disgusting" said Hermione, shaking her head and turning back to her homework.

"Come on Granger" I said sulkily, "I'm not in the mood, alright? Just help me out. Ow!"

My stomach had suddenly begun to ache horribly and I sat down on her bed, feeling terrible.

"What's wrong?" she asked, abandoning her Potions and coming to sit beside me. "You do look a bit pale."

"It's my stomach" I replied in a strained voice, "It's hurting."

I was aware that I sounded pathetic, but I was really in too much pain to care.

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, until her face lit up with sudden understanding – and her mouth twitched into a smile. For a fleeting moment I thought she was actually enjoying the sight of me in pain, which was a tad uncalled for seeing as I'd been perfectly civil to her for the last few days. But seconds later she had jumped to her feet and crossed the room to her calendar. After looking at it for a second, she turned to face me, obviously trying to hold back a grin.

"Why are you smiling?" I asked indignantly. "I could be dying."

"You're not dying Draco" she said, rolling her eyes. "You're on your period."

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, _my_ period" she corrected herself. "But let's not quibble over semantics."

I decided (mainly for the sake of my manhood) that this pronouncement must be her feeble idea of a joke. "You worry me" I said amusedly. "You worry me on many levels."

"But the signs fit" she said patiently. "Stomach ache, looking pale and drained, you've been tetchy all day..."

"I haven't" I retorted. She was being absurd. This couldn't possibly be just a hormonal tummy ache; the amount of pain I was in suggested something decidedly more life threatening. Besides, the idea of having a period was too disturbing to contemplate.

"Draco, I really think you should go and check" said Hermione, desperately fighting to keep her face straight.

I scowled. I didn't like how much amusement this was causing her.

"It isn't funny!" I snarled, getting up and walking into her toilet purely to get her off my back. I would prove to her it wasn't what she thought and then go up to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfroy could diagnose me with whatever was actually the problem.

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**Hermione POV**

Draco came out of the bathroom a minute later, his face deathly pale. I pressed my lips together in a firm line to stop a giggle coming out. This was absolutely priceless. In years to come whenever I was feeling down, I would remember this image – Draco Malfoy with menstrual cramps.

"I've – "his voice cracked. He swallowed, looking up at me with desperate eyes, and then tried again. "I think I might have got – "

"Your period?" I supplied for him cheerfully.

He nodded, looking so helpless that I had to walk across to him and put an arm round his shoulders. It was strange – this was the first time we'd touched in our new bodies and at my new height of six foot he felt so small and vulnerable. Was this how Malfoy saw me?

"Look, I'll show you what you need to do" I told him in a motherly voice. He obviously needed looking after right now.

"Do?" he asked me hoarsely.

"You know, to err – stop the blood."

Draco's face had taken on the expression of one bound for the gallows.

"Show me" he instructed weakly.

"Well, I think we'll go for pads rather than tampons" I said thoughtfully, "don't want to freak you out."

"God forbid any of this freaks me out."

I smiled as I went over to my chest of drawers to fetch what Draco would need.

"It's really not so bad" I told him. "After the first day you won't really notice it."

I returned to where he was sitting hopelessly on my bed and handed him a packet of tablets.

"Take two of these, they're amazing. I won't say much for them, but Fred and George really do know their remedies."

"What are they?" asked Draco suspiciously. No doubt thinking of the nosebleed nougats and puking pastilles the twins sold on the black-market during their sixth year.

"They'll cure your stomach ache."

"Oh. Thanks."

I felt a momentary surge of – what? I don't know really, but _something,_ about the fact that Draco trusted me. I really could be handing him ton tongue toffee's for all he knew. Then again, he didn't really have much choice but to trust me. He'd never been in this situation before in his life.

Draco sighed and stood up. "I'll just go and…you know…then we can do McGonagall's plan for the Yule Ball."

"Do you know what you're doing?" I called after him as he walked slowly towards the bathroom.

At that he turned round to give me a scathing look.

"I may be a guy, but I'm not an idiot" he informed me.

Good. Glad to know he was back to normal.

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**Draco POV**

I shut the toilet door on Hermione's half sympathetic, half smirking face, sank weakly to the floor and quietly had a panic attack.

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**Hermione POV**

Twenty minutes later (I kind of wanted to ask what had taken him so long but his expression suggested that we should never mentioned this again) we were seated at either end of my bed, me cross legged with my pillow on my lap, Draco lying sprawled out on his back and taking up most of the room.

"So the Yule Ball" he drawled, cockiness restored.

"Right" I said, "McGonagall wants us to plan the theme, music, food. Pretty much everything really."

"Still just fourth years and above?"

"Why do you ask? Were you planning on inviting someone younger?" I teased him.

"Well I was considering taking a first year – the look on Weasley's face would have been priceless – but I guess that goes against our "not destroying each other's lives" deal, doesn't it?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Just a little bit" I agreed. "I suppose you want me to take Pansy then" I added, my heart sinking. I wasn't sure I'd be able to put up with that bitch simpering over me all evening.

"Not if you don't want to."

"You mean I get a choice?" I asked in surprise.

Draco shrugged. "As long as she's hot, I don't mind."

I gave him a withering look.

"Got to keep the reputation up" he grinned.

"Yeah, the reputation for being Hogwarts' biggest man whore" I muttered.

"Pardon Hermione, I didn't quite catch that?"

"Nothing" I replied, smiling sweetly. "So what do you think the theme should be?"

"How about a masquerade?" Draco suggested. "It would make me feel slightly better about this face if I was wearing a mask."

"That's not a bad idea actually" I said, ignoring his jibe.

"It has been known to happen" he said dryly.

"So kind of a medieval theme, with ball gowns and swords and that kind of thing. And we could have a proper feast, like a massive roast with boar's heads and stuff." I was getting really into the idea.

"Sounds like my average day at home."

"Come off it, you don't seriously have boar's heads do you?" I asked incredulously.

"Well the house elves were really into weird meats and my father always insisted we dressed up for dinner. So apart from the masks, it's about right" said Draco offhandedly.

It was one of the first times he'd spoken about his family and I was interested in the insight it gave me into his life. I also forced myself to remember that loads of wizard families had house elves and that I shouldn't get mad – I'd been trying to tone down S.P.E.W a bit recently as my campaigns seemed to be having no effect. Obviously the wizarding world wasn't quite ready for the liberation of our fellow magical creatures.

"You mean you never just got a takeaway if you were late in or something?" I asked him, deciding I was very glad I'd grown up in the muggle world. Pizza was something I seriously missed at Hogwarts.

"I have no idea what a takeaway is, but no we didn't". Draco was looking stonily up at the ceiling as he said this. "Dinner was always late anyway, at nine. It took that long for the house elves to lay out the table."

"Wasn't that all a bit formal? I would have found it really annoying."

"My whole childhood was formal" he said shortly and I gathered that this meant the conversation was over.

"So…" I said, attempting to break the sudden tension. "What band do you think we should book?"

"Sorry" said Draco, disregarding my small talk. "I don't like talking about my father."

His face was smooth, impassive – and I was beginning to understand the effort it cost him to keep it that way. His indifference hid a lot of emotion.

"He wasn't very nice to you, was he?" I asked in a small voice.

Draco rolled over so that he could look at me and his answering smile was bitter.

"No. But my mother was and I suppose that makes up for it."

"Nothing makes up for it Draco" I told him sharply. "That doesn't excuse him."

He let out a hollow laugh. "You don't know the half of it and you're already condemning him. I know that nothing excuses him for what he did."

I shuddered at his implied meaning. "What –?" I began, but Draco cut me off.

"You don't want to hear it Hermione. I imagine we wouldn't be able to hate each other after you did."

I half smiled. He knew me (unnervingly) well, knew that if he recounted one of the horror stories from his childhood which I'd heard whispered by so many people after the war, which I was starting to realise weren't stories at all, but painfully true, then I would pity him. And he was too proud to allow that to happen.

"That would be a shame, not being able to hate each other" I replied, following his lead and keeping the atmosphere light.

"We do it so well" he agreed.

We fell silent for a minute; I was half going over what had just happened and half wondering what Draco was thinking about. He may have spared me the task of pitying him, but I felt a huge surge of compassion that I knew wasn't going to go away. It might only be a subtle difference, but our relationship had changed.

"So I'll tell McGonagall a masquerade then?" I said finally.

"Remember to inform her whose idea it was" Draco pointed out.

"Sure." I rolled my eyes, thinking that from what I'd just heard, the rumours that Draco must know were circulating about him and his father – the worst part of them being that they were true – meant that a masquerade would feel like the perfect escape.

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**Draco POV**

Later that night I lay on my own bed wondering what the hell had happened earlier with Granger.

It wasn't like I'd never told anyone about my family before. Blaise knew pretty much everything, had even seen it first hand on the occasions my father had allowed him to stay at the Manor for the summer. But this was different. Blaise had a life that was just as messed up as mine – a famous mother who attracted wealthy wizards and never seemed to get sent to Azkaban even after numerous allegations that she'd poisoned three out of her four husbands (personally I thought it was kind of hot, but Blaise punched me every time I mentioned this).

But this was Granger we were talking about. The mudblood. She'd never had to worry about what her family was going to do during the War because they weren't even aware that it was going on. They were probably sitting at home doing whatever it was dentists did – she said they fixed teeth, but that was a blatant lie – and blathering on about what a perfect little daughter they had. She was a Gryffindor for fuck sake, and I'd been talking to her as if the last seven years hadn't happened. Then again, this whole switching body's thing was so weird that I guess it kind of cancelled out whatever history we had. It wasn't like I was starting to like her or anything, but I suppose it was better than being stuck as Longbottom for the next term.

I sat up and yawned, deciding that I'd go take a shower before I went to sleep. The novelty of showering in a girl's body hadn't worn off yet so I was irritated when there was a knock on the door and Hermione stuck her head into my room.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"If you feel that it's absolutely necessary."

She hesitated before walking over and sitting down on the very edge of my bed.

"I gave the plan to McGonagall. She loved it."

"Of course she did" I drawled, shooting her a superior look. "It was my idea."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "As if your ego needed any more inflating."

"You know what they say" I began, "big ego, big –"

"Alright aright" said Hermione hurriedly, cutting me off. I noticed with interest that her cheeks had turned pink. Maybe she was having as much fun showering as I was?

"Why do you always have to be so vulgar?" she said crossly.

"Part of my charm, love" I smirked.

"I can't see how _anybody_ finds that kind of comment charming, but I suppose it must work" she muttered.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that the more time I spend with you, the more I can't understand why you resort to these low brow witticisms to get girls into bed." She blushed even more at this and lowered her eyes to my bedspread. "I mean, "She continued, picking at the embroidery with her nails, "that underneath the arrogance you're not actually as big a dick as I thought you were."

"Thanks" I said drily. But inside I was wondering what she was getting at.

"And even though you insult me constantly and seem to have _no_ moral compass whatsoever, I think perhaps it's not your fault."

"Wow Granger, way to make a guy feel special."

She raised her eyes to mine and smiled at this. "The way everybody acts around you makes you special enough as it is. You don't need me doing it as well."

I raised an eyebrow. "The way everyone acts…?"

"Teachers, younger students, even some of your friends. They're scared of you Draco. Well, not of you I don't think. But of your family. And most girls at Hogwarts treat you like you're some sort of celebrity… it's no wonder you think so highly of yourself."

I was silent for a moment. "Blaise doesn't treat me like that" I said quietly.

"No" Hermione agreed. "He doesn't. And nor does the rest of your dormitory. But they're perhaps the only ones."

"They're the only ones that really know me" I said, before I realised what I was doing. "I mean, they're the only ones not stupid enough to believe everything that people say about my family."

Hermione was looking at me shrewdly. It was deeply unsettling and I had a sudden feeling that I wouldn't be able to call her mudblood after this. Not even in my head.

"Err, Granger?" I said, desperately trying to back peddle to where we'd been before this conversation started.

"Yes?"

"I was just off to take a shower. Want to come with?"

Hermione smiled as she got up and headed for the door. "Nice try Draco" she said over her shoulder. "But I don't believe you'd ever put me in such a compromising position."

"I'll compromise you right here if you want me to" I said with a wink.

"Goodnight Draco."

I sighed. Evidently she was trying to think good of me whatever I did tonight. Might as well save myself for the morning.

"Night Granger" I muttered.

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	6. Keeping up appearances

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**Hermione POV

It was getting late and the Slytherin common room was nearly empty, most of the younger students having gone to bed a couple of hours ago. The only people left up were me and Blaise and we were sitting talking in the armchairs by the fire.

I'd told Draco that I thought it would be a good idea if we spent the evening with each other's friends, as the last few night's we'd both remained in the head's dormitory, unwilling to socialise in our new houses unless absolutely necessary. But it was paramount that we didn't arouse suspicion and seeing as Blaise had already asked me about ten times what I was "getting up to with Hermione" I thought it would be best if we spent some time apart. Obviously I'd reassured Blaise that there was nothing untoward going on and thankfully he did now seem to be convinced. What I hadn't counted on was the revival of his own plan to seduce me (or rather Draco).

"So what's Hermione doing tonight?" he asked me casually, stretching out on the sofa he was lying on and placing his hands behind his head.

"How should I know" I replied, keeping my voice as indifferent as possible. "Probably doing homework. It's not like she has much of a life."

Pansy laughed at my answer and I felt a flare of anger which I was forced to repress. She really was one of the most obnoxious people I'd ever had the misfortune to meet, but snapping at her would only lead to complications.

"You think she's in your dormitory then?" Blaise continued. "Because if she is, I might go and pay her a little visit."

I almost choked to keep myself from laughing. Was Blaise seriously suggesting that he was about to go on a – I think the commonly used phrase was "booty call" – to try and get me into bed with him? Although I was slightly appalled that Blaise believed he was capable of winning me over in that way, a small part of me felt flattered that he thought I was pretty enough to be worth the effort. But I was thinking all this in the back of my mind, because the larger part of my attention was taken up with the fact that it wouldn't actually be me that he would be paying this visit on, but Draco.

A few days ago and letting Draco's best friend try and hit on him had seemed like a brilliant way of getting back at him for his lewd comments and perverse attitude. But these last few days had been different and I thought perhaps that I should try and deter Blaise.

Ever since the conversation Draco and I had about his father, I'd felt less inclined to maintain my dislike of him purely on the basis of our history. I wasn't justifying any of the things I knew he'd done in the past, but the fact that he'd been subjected to such a horrible home life made me realise that perhaps it wasn't all his fault. I found that my built in prejudice of him aside, he wasn't actually that bad.

What was stranger was the fact that we'd spent so much of our time together, rather than shut up in our respective bedrooms like usual. Whether we were doing homework or just talking (I'd spent a lot of time listening to Draco complain about how difficult it was to put on a bra – apparently vast experience at taking them off didn't help whatsoever) I was starting, as unlikely as it sounded, to enjoy being around him.

This wasn't to say that I liked him – at least, no more than a person _should_ like their room mate – but there were certain things about him which I couldn't help but find attractive, however much this unnerved me to say. For one thing, when he wasn't being deliberately antagonistic, I actually found his sense of humour rather interesting. It certainly kept me on my toes having to come up with retorts on a regular basis and without really realising it, our tete a tetes had switched from being insulting, to playfully mocking.

For another, it was just too hard for me to deny that he didn't have an extremely toned body. Whenever I took a shower, however much I tried not to, my eyes always ended up wondering over his chest and arms and down to his stomach and lower. I knew that years of playing Quidditch had to have some benefits, but I had never imagined that I would be thinking these things about Draco Malfoy.

Still, I felt that our newly arrived at state of truce (perhaps even a tentative friendship?) should be respected and I couldn't allow him to be put in the compromising situation of being flirted with by Blaise.

"I think she said she was doing something with Potter" I told him, hoping that Draco actually had taken my advice and gone to the Gryffindor common room.

Blaise shrugged. "Ah well. I'll leave it for another night then."

"You know, I think there might be something going on between her and Weasley" I said, even though I'd adamantly told Draco a hundred times that this wasn't true. "I wouldn't bother if I were you."

"Since when has a boyfriend got in my way?" Blaise grinned. "Especially one like Weasley."

Trying as best as I could to overlook his complete lack of morals, I smiled back in return.

"True. But Granger spends all her time with him. It doesn't look like you'll be able to charm her in to bed with you."

"Oh ye of little faith. I bet you that I can get her in under a week. Ten galleons if I can."

"A bet?" I repeated in alarm. Merlin knew he didn't need any further motivation. "Do you really think that's such a good idea?"

"What?" Blaise smirked over at me. "Afraid that I'll take your money so easily?"

"This has nothing to do with money and everything to do with not breaking up a happy couple" I told him sternly.

Blaise chuckled. "Good one" he said. "But seriously, we on?"

"No!"

He frowned at me. "Why not?"

"Because, I just think you could put your time to better use" I said.

"Like how?"

Yes Hermione, like how? Think damn it.

"Well, I heard Cho saying that she really liked you" I fabricated. "And she's really hot, so why not go for her?"

Blaise considered while I shuddered at the way I'd just objectified the female sex.

"She really said she liked me?" he asked after a minute.

"Yes. She was talking to Marietta and I overheard them. Plus there's the fact that" – I winced at the words I was about to say – "she's got to be a much better shag than Granger."

He nodded. "Fair point."

It was _not_ a fair point. It was a completely sexist, disgusting, immoral and entirely superficial point. But it seemed to be winning him over, so I decided to go with it.

"So you're going to go after Cho instead then?" I asked casually.

"Well if she already likes me, it's going to be way less hassle" said Blaise. "I might go find her now. See you later man."

"See you."

As he got up and headed for the door, I leant my head back against the couch and sighed.

Draco owed me one.

And, although I would entirely disapprove of it under normal circumstances, I sincerely hoped that Cho was as big of a slut as she was rumoured to be.

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**Draco POV**

This had to be the single weirdest moment of my life. Stranger than seeing Goyle get a Runes translation correct and definitely stranger than Pansy refusing to have sex with me (never happened by the way). It even topped waking up in Hermione's body and realising I'd have to be a girl for the next term.

Because Potter had just asked me for sex advice.

Weasley was off finishing an essay in the library and we were sitting in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, away from everyone else. We'd been talking – or rather he'd been talking at me, while I'd been checking out the gorgeous redhead by the fire – about Ginny and the date he'd taken her on the night before (to Madame Puddifoots. I mean _seriously_. No wonder the guy needed advice). Then Harry had started to fidget uncomfortably and spent a few minutes coughing nervously then all of a sudden he'd blurted out that he needed advice and asked if I thought it was too early in their relationship to be thinking about sex.

"Depends how far she's let you get already" I told him reasonably.

Ok, maybe that wasn't a particularly Hermione-ish thing to say, but I was doing my best to give him a female perspective here. Ordinarily I would just have said yes. Because really, there was never too early a time in a relationship for sex – not that I ever got to the relationship stage. I put girls into two categories; those I slept with once and then never looked at again (like the blond from Hufflepuff I'd hooked up with the night before the switch) and girls that I had sex with on a regular basis, no strings attached (like Cho and Pansy).

Harry kept his voice low when he replied. "Well, we've only really kissed so far. But the thing is, Ginny's done it before with Dean. And I'm kind of worried."

I raised an eyebrow. "That you won't be as good as him?"

Which obviously he wouldn't. He might be Dumbledore's golden boy, but Potter had less game than my grandmother.

"Well I don't see how I could be" Harry said, pushing his glasses up his nose in an awkward gesture. "I've never done it before, have I?"

My mouth fell open.

_Holy crap. _

This was priceless. In one sentence Potter had handed me ammunition with which to mock him for life. It was all I could do to keep the smirk off my face as I replied.

"You're a virgin? I mean, seriously? You're seriously a virgin?"

"Well, yes." Harry was looking very uncomfortable. "I thought you knew I was Mione. I never got that far with Cho and haven't been with anyone since."

"And you've never just had a one-night stand?" the question spilled out before I could stop myself. I knew that I was straying further and further away from Hermione behaviour but I just couldn't help it. Potter was a virgin, for Merlin's sake. It was the best news I'd had for weeks.

"What? No!" Harry shot me a funny look. "Of course I haven't."

"Right, of course" I said. _Makes a hell of a lot of sense_, I added silently.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

I looked at Potter's anxious expression and despite the fact that his happiness was the thing I cared least about in the world, I knew I had to tell him to do it. Because I couldn't wish celibacy even on my worst enemy.

"I think you should go for it" I said. "She's already done it; you definitely _need_ to do it. So what's the problem?"

"Don't you think we're sort of rushing into things?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. Typical Gryffindor thing to say. "How long have you liked her again?"

I'd been appalled when Hermione had told me how long Harry had liked Ginny for. After the first few months, it was like give up already.

"Two years" Harry mumbled. "But we've only been dating for two weeks."

"But you've totally done the groundwork already" I told him. "Time to reap the rewards."

Harry frowned. "Hermione, are you feeling ok?"

Perhaps that last piece of advice had been a little crass…

"What I mean to say is, you completely deserve to be happy" I amended hurriedly. "And if you feel ready" – I cringed inwardly – "and Ginny's consenting, then there's nothing to stop you. Just make sure that this is definitely what you want."

There you go. Hermione would be proud of that bullshit.

Harry was nodding. "I think I feel ready. I've liked her for ages and I'm pretty sure she wants to. Can I just ask you one more thing?"

"Fire away."

Jesus, did he ever shut up?

"How was it? You know… err – your first time with Krum?"

I tried not to grin as the memory of Hermione, blushing furiously, floated into my mind. She'd been reluctant to tell me about her relationship with Krum when we were filling each other in on the first night of the switch. But I'd quoted her own words back at her – "we have to tell one another everything if this is going to work" – and eventually she'd revealed that she wasn't a virgin. This had led to a whole new bout of questioning which she had refused to answer and had ended with her slapping me really hard around the head when I'd speculated over her favourite position.

"It was good" I said. There was no way in hell I was going into details, but it was ok, because I had a feeling that Hermione wouldn't have either.

"Oh. Well, that's good. Thanks Mione, I've been worrying about this all day and I just really needed to talk to someone about – "suddenly he broke off and I turned round in my seat to see what he was looking at.

Weasley was clambering in through the portrait hole, his school bag slung over one shoulder and a grumpy expression on his face. I wondered why Potter didn't want to talk about his relationship in front of him, until I remembered that Ginny was his sister and he probably wouldn't appreciate Potter asking permission to shag her.

"Finished your essay?" Harry asked, in loud and cheerful voice. He shot me a look that told me I shouldn't mention any of what we'd just discussed. However tempting it would have been to drop him in it and tell Weasley that he was planning on defiling his sister, I knew that Hermione would have my guts for garters if I caused an argument between her best friends. Reluctantly, I kept my mouth shut.

"Yeah" said Ron, coming over and collapsing into the seat next to me. "Took forever though. I fucking hate Flitwick."

"You should have done it before the day it was due in then" I told him, congratulating myself on sounding so entirely like Hermione. Rule abiding and anal all in one.

"I guess so" Ron grumbled. "What have you two been up to anyway?"

"Just talking about the Yule Ball" said Harry quickly. "Mione says it's going to be a Masquerade."

I'd told him this earlier when I was finding it difficult to think of a conversation starter. Seriously, once we'd got past homework and Quidditch – which I had to pretend I knew nothing about because Hermione hated it – there was very little to say. I wondered how Hermione hadn't felt the need in the last seven years to find herself some more interesting friends.

"What? Like masks and stuff?" Ron asked.

_No shit. _

"Yes" I told him, trying to keep the disdain out of my voice. "Sort of a medieval theme."

"Cool."

Ron's face had taken on a new look that made me feel decidedly uncomfortable.

"Hey Hermione" he said, in a poor attempt at a casual tone. "Are you going with anyone?"

"Err, not yet" I hedged, trying to make it sound as if there was someone else I was hoping would ask me.

"Because I was just thinking" Ron continued – Oh God. Weasley was about to profess his undying love for me – "that maybe, y'know, we could go together?"

"Oh no, is that the time?" I said, making an exaggerated startle reflex and jumping up out of my seat. "I'm supposed to be in a meeting with professor McGonagall. I'll see you later!"

"At half nine?" Ron called after me as I practically ran flat out to the portrait hole. "It's after hours!"

"It was the only time she could do" I shouted over my shoulder, not bothering to turn round and see if he looked offended. Hermione would just have to deal. "Later!"

No way in hell could I say yes to Weasley taking me to the Ball.

And she could scream at me all she liked (which was kind of losing all effect anyway) but it just wasn't happening. Ever.

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**Hermione POV**

I decided to wait up for Draco to get back so we could have a debrief session about how the evening had gone.

I tried to tell myself that this was purely for the purpose of ensuring that our performances remained credible and nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to see him. But the way my stomach lurched when I heard the door opening seemed to throw that theory out the window. _You do not have any feelings for him beyond a professional capacity_, I told myself sternly. Because firstly, that would complicate matters beyond belief. And secondly, he was Draco Malfoy. _Get a grip Granger._

"Hey" he said, as he walked across the room towards me. The forced casualness of his tone and the way his hands were shoved in his pockets instantly aroused my suspicion.

"What did you do?" I demanded, watching him closely as he fell into the seat next to me. And I thought I'd been happy to see him. Ridiculous.

"Nothing."

"Well obviously something" I said, noticing the way he wasn't quite meeting my eye. "You didn't do anything with Seamus did you?"

He rolled his eyes. "No. You seriously need to get over that."

I frowned. "You're not ingratiating yourself to me terribly well if you _did_ do something" I told him. "You could try starting with an apology."

"What makes you so sure something's happened?"

"I can just tell."

"Know me that well do you?" he said, and there was something in his voice that made me shiver slightly at his words.

I didn't reply, but continued to look at him and eventually he gave in with a sigh.

"Ok. I kind of, might have, run away from Weasley when he invited me to the Yule Ball…"

I started to smile. "He invited me to the ball?"

Not that I really would have wanted to go with Ron – at least, not as anything more than friends – but still. It was nice to know that I was getting invitations.

"He tried to" Draco corrected me.

"You let him down gently though?" I asked anxiously.

"I sort of employed avoidance tactics rather than giving him a definite answer."

"Honestly! That's worse than a no." I grumbled. "You can't keep him hanging like that."

"I'm not going with him" said Draco flatly.

"I didn't say that you had to."

He looked up at me then, and his expression was hard to read.

"Maybe we shouldn't take dates" he said.

"At all?"

"It would make things easier."

I nodded, seeing the sense in his suggestion.

"It would certainly save me from having to ask a girl you deemed suitably hot enough" I teased.

He grinned. "Won't stop girls from throwing themselves at you all night."

"Speaking of people throwing themselves at members of the opposite sex" I said, "I've just saved your from a rather awkward situation. Blaise wanted to get into your pants, or rather _my _pants, so I deflected him on to Cho instead. I figured you probably wouldn't want him hitting on you."

Draco shrugged. "It's happened before. When Blaise is drunk he hits on pretty much anyone and anything in a five mile radius."

"Oh. So I shouldn't count myself as special then?"

"I wouldn't say that" Draco smirked, and the way he was looking at me made me want to blush. Before I could make myself drop his gaze, he was standing up and stretching. "Anyways, I'm off to bed."

"Oh, well. Goodnight Draco."

"Night Hermione."

I watched him walk up the stairs, wondering (hoping?) if perhaps he didn't want to go with Ron to the Yule Ball because it meant he would have to spend the entire evening with the Gryffindors and thus not with me at all. But of course that would be a ludicrous assumption and completely egotistical, because I wasn't entirely sure that Draco saw me as a friend yet, let alone anything more.

The thought gave me a strange butterfly sensation in my stomach though, and made me happy a great deal more than it should.

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**So, it's all going to start kicking off next chapter! **

**Please review review review and let me know what you think :) **


	7. Out of the cauldron

**A/N: again, i'm just loving the favourites and alerts i'm getting for this! You guys are awesome :)**

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**Draco POV**

After a few weeks of teachers greeting me in corridors and first years coming up to tell me about their problems and regale me with their successes, I realised that Hermione was extremely popular at Hogwarts. Everywhere I went people would stop me to say Hi and it wasn't just Gryffindors either. Ravenclaws would wander over at breakfast to compare notes on homework and all the lessons I had with the Hufflepuffs seemed to include an annoying guy called Ernie McMillan who wouldn't leave me the fuck alone.

I'd also discovered that hanging out with Potter and Weasley was not quite as horrific as I'd expected. After getting used to Harry (I was trying to get into the practise of calling them by their first names) putting his arm round me every so often and Ron often watching me with a stupid dopey expression when he thought I wasn't looking, they turned out to be kind of Ok.

This isn't to say that I liked them – they were still scarhead and Weaselbee, the dull witted duo – but being part of the Golden Trio wasn't quite as boring as I'd anticipated.

"Fuck" Ron panted as we arrived late and extremely out of breath for Potions – oversleeping wasn't something even Hermione's body could cure me of – and found Snape waiting by the door, looking like a large black bat ready to swoop down and give us detention.

"Late again Weasley" he said quietly, looking down at Ron with a satisfied expression, "that will be ten points from Gryffindor. And Miss Granger too I see, I think perhaps I should make that twenty."

"Sorry Professor" we both mumbled and walked past him to our desks.

Automatically I looked round for Hermione, who I found sitting next to Blaise and looking at me with an annoyed expression. I gave her a slight shrug as I sat down, getting my quill and parchment out of my bag. Hey, it wasn't my fault I was blemishing her perfect attendance record, it was Dumbledore's. If she wanted to pick a fight with him, she was free to go.

A few minutes into the lesson, the inevitable note landed on my lap. I looked round to see Hermione staring resolutely ahead and opened it with a low groan. Couldn't she leave me alone for five seconds?

_What was that little stunt all about? You were fifteen minutes late!_

I rolled my eyes and shielding the piece of parchment from Ron, wrote back to her.

When Snape turned round to write something on the board and the rest of the class's heads were bent copying down the instructions, I lobbed it back at her.

_Chill out Hermione, it was one time. _

I hoped this would get her off my back for the rest of the lesson. But then again, this was Hermione we were talking about…

_One time can make all the difference Draco. What if you'd missed something important? _

_Like what? Snape having washed his hair for once?_

_Very funny. You're not taking this seriously. _

_Of course I'm not, you're being ridiculous. _

I'm_ being ridiculous? We're talking about my future here!_

_No we're not; we're talking about twenty measly house points. They're not going to stop you from being minister for magic just because you overslept one time when you were seventeen. _

_You really think I could become minister for magic? _

_No. I was being ironic. _

On reading this she frowned and refused to write back to me.

I tipped back on my chair and stopped listening to the rest of the lesson, knowing that she was going to yell at me when we got back to the head's dormitory and thinking that I might as well get a bit of peace before then.

Sure enough, once we were safely behind closed doors she rounded on me crossly.

"You keep getting points taken away from Gryffindor! Could you kindly stop trying to sabotage my house?"

"Sure" I replied, sitting down on the couch and propping my legs up on the table. "When you start earning points for mine. You haven't put your hand up once in class since we switched."

"You never do" she pointed out, sitting down next to me and folding her arms. "I was only trying to behave like you would."

"Yeah well, I've turned over a new leaf" I smirked. "So start showing everyone how intelligent I am."

She ignored me and sighed. "I think I'm going to get started with some homework."

She'd insisted that we carried on doing our own homework; apparently the grades I was getting weren't good enough for her. As she drew out her Ancient Runes essay I raised an eyebrow. I knew she found translations hard and since my father had forced me to read various books about them since I was little, I was good at them.

"You know I'm better than you at Runes, right?" I told her. "So you'll do better if you let me do it."

She observed me sceptically over her sheet of parchment. "Sure Draco, whatever you say" she said patronizingly. "Nonetheless, I think I'll do it myself."

"Your loss" I shrugged. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Most often when Harry asked me stupid relationship questions about Ginny which Hermione would have undoubtedly been able to solve for him, but which I was nonplussed as how to approach. Girls were something I'd never had problems with.

I looked over at Hermione, who was nibbling on the end of her quill and frowning at her essay. I almost laughed at how stubborn she was.

"Seriously" I said, "I know I'm a Slytherin, but let me help."

She looked up at me and narrowed her eyes. "Why are you being so nice?" she demanded.

In all honesty, I had no idea. Why _was_ I offering to help her? She was still the same annoying, sanctimonious suck up she'd always been and being in my body made no difference to that. But before, seeing her struggling with her homework and biting down on her bottom lip in the way I'd come to realise she always did when she was thinking deeply about something, was kind of cute, and it had genuinely made me want to help her.

Then my brain seemed to freeze as I registered what I'd just thought. _Kind of cute_? Had I seriously just called Granger _cute_? Fuck. This switch must have messed my brain up. Being stuck in her body was enough to make anyone go mental and maybe this was me starting to lose it. But then the memory of me, standing in front of the mirror wearing Pansy's lingerie came into my mind and I was horrified at remembering the fact I'd thought Hermione looked hotter in it than she had. _Get a grip Malfoy_. This was Hermione we were talking about. The bucktoothed Mudblood. Hot and her did not go in the same sentence.

"Draco?" she was still looking at me suspiciously, obviously confused by my long silence.

"Er, I have to go" I told her, getting up and striding to the door. "Just remembered I said I'd meet Harry and Ron for lunch."

"What's going on?" she called after me. But I was already half way down the corridor, determined to put as much distance as possible between us before I thought something else ridiculous.

Like how amazing her body was.

_Fuck. _

_

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_**Hermione POV**

Draco was acting strange.

Firstly, in an extremely dubious gesture of selflessness he'd actually offered to help me with my Ancient Runes. Secondly, he'd organised to meet up with Harry and Ron without me having to force him into it. So what the hell was going on?

Usually I had to push him kicking and screaming (ok, not quite literally – I very much doubted Draco had ever done anything so undignified as to kick and scream in his life) out of the head's dormitory to spend even ten minutes with them. Ok, I thought that he'd been getting on with them better than I'd expected, but the idea that he was beginning to enjoy their company was completely absurd.

So it left me with no other conclusion than that he was up to something, although this seemed unlikely too. The last few weeks had gone pretty well, once we'd agreed not to mess each other's lives up. I'd even thought that we were starting to get on (I tried not to think about the way he had called me special, because it made my stomach lurch). So I couldn't think of any reason why he'd be plotting something, unless I'd drastically misread the situation and he was on the brink of murdering my two best friends.

"Stupid Slytherin" I muttered to myself, deciding that I'd better go and have some lunch or Blaise would think I was getting lucky again (yesterday I'd turned up late for dinner and he'd been convinced that the reason behind it was that I'd been messing about with Cho, who apparently arrived late too. He hadn't stopped quizzing me about it all meal, and his suggestions about which "positions" I'd used had seriously put me off dessert.)

When I entered the Great Hall, Blaise grinned and beckoned me over. Other than the fact he talked constantly about sex, I wasn't finding his company too bad and I almost managed a genuine smile in return.

"Hey" I said, sitting down next to him and starting to pile my plate with sausages and mashed potato. Being in Draco's body had definitely made me more hungry.

"McGonagall's looking for you" Blaise informed me as he buttered himself as piece of toast. "Apparently you and Granger are supposed to be organising the Yule Ball."

"Oh no!" I moaned, slapping my hand to my head as I remembered the meeting me and Draco had had with her and the rest of the prefects two weeks ago. "We were meant to have drawn up a plan and given it to her by now. I bet she was really angry. Did she look angry?" I asked anxiously.

Blaise looked at me oddly. "No more than usual."

"I'd better go and find Dra – I mean Hermione and sort out some ideas" I fretted.

As Blaise raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, I bit my tongue at my stupidity – in my desire to want all Professors to think well of me, I'd nearly let slip the whole switch. Draco would not be worried about pleasing McGonagall. I hurriedly cut across Blaise before he could say anything, trying to sound as unconcerned and Draco-ish as possible.

"But I'll do that later; don't want to miss out on seeing Cho come in for lunch, do I? She was looking fit as this morning at breakfast, that short skirt of hers is hot."

I cringed at my last words, thinking I'd definitely overdone it.

Blaise evidently thought so too.

"Are you feeling alright mate?" he asked curiously.

I attempted to pull off a casual laugh. "Course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you're acting a bit… weird" he said uncertainly.

"Maybe you're the one acting weird" I said, trying to sound casual but ending up aggressive.

"Do you want to go to the Hospital Wing?" he suggested, ignoring my sudden hostility.

I was starting to panic. "No. Just drop it" I snapped.

"Ok" he said, holding up both hands in a gesture of surrender. "Let's just forget about it."

"Fine."

We lapsed into silence, my brain frantically trying to come up with how I was supposed to sort this all out. Escaping seemed the best policy. I could find Draco and ask what it was boys said to each other after they'd had an argument. I figured it would be something monosyllabic, but it was best to check. After a minute I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood up.

"Look, I'll explain everything tonight, alright? I've got to go."

"Sure" he said, looking up at me with an easy grin. "Catch you later."

I walked hurriedly away, half worried about how I was going to explain this to Draco and half surprised that Blaise seemed to be such a nice guy.

Strangely, I found Draco loitering about in the entrance hall – it briefly crossed my mind to tell him off, as loitering was definitely something I wouldn't do and he looked so out of character I was surprised Harry and Ron hadn't carted him off to the hospital wing, until I remembered that I was supposed to be apologising for being horrible to his best friend.

"Hi" I said, "We need to talk."

He looked up at me with an indifferent expression and didn't make any motion to reply. I faltered. Maybe he'd seen me getting angry with Blaise and was pissed off? I suddenly felt really guilt – he hadn't fallen out with my friends once so far and it must be costing him a great deal more than it was costing me.

"I'm really sorry" I told him. "It's just we're supposed to have come up with plans for the Yule Ball and I got all stressed about McGonagall. I didn't mean to get so worked up and now I've said to Blaise I'll tell him what's going on tonight and I have no idea what to say."

Draco's coolness was replaced by confusion. "What?" he asked.

"Me, just now in the Hall" I repeated, slightly put off by his puzzled tone. "When I snapped at Blaise."

"Oh" said Draco, turning away from me and starting to saunter away towards the stairs. "Don't worry about it."

Once again I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from ordering him _not _to swagger in my body. I hurried after him.

"Did you hear what I said?" I asked him, having difficulty matching my pace with his as he strode along the first floor corridor. "We have to think of an excuse for why I'm acting so weirdly."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something. You are the brightest witch of your age after all." Draco accompanied this with a contemptuous sneer.

I felt like he'd punched me in the stomach. Where had this sudden spitefulness come from? The Draco Malfoy I'd got to know over the past week wasn't deliberately cruel. I'd even begun to think that he was – I cut this thought off in its tracks. Because it was evident that he didn't feel remotely the same way.

"What's wrong?" I said in concern, reaching out to touch his arm.

Draco jerked his arm away and spun to face me with a harsh expression.

"Keep your filthy mudblood hands off me" he hissed.

I blinked in surprise. "Fine" I said, the words coming out of my mouth without me really processing them. "I'll see you around then."

I turned and walked away, trying very hard not to let him see how much he'd hurt me and wondering why, for the first time in seven years, I suddenly cared.

* * *

**Draco POV**

I watched Hermione walk down the corridor with a sinking feeling. She was holding herself very straight, her pride not allowing her to show she was upset. But I'd seen the hurt in her face before she turned away and could kick myself for saying what I had.

I groaned and closed my eyes. That wasn't remotely how I'd wanted the conversation to go. I'd been pacing the castle for most of lunchtime, trying to get rid of the stupid thoughts I had in the common room. I'd just about resolved to pretend like nothing had happened and forget the whole incident when I saw her coming out the hall and the insane thing was, I was happy to see her. That realisation had scared me so much that the barriers had come down and I'd resorted to the age old fall back of insulting her ancestry. The whole thing was so messed up, I had no idea what to do next.

A passing Hufflepuff girl jumped as I started to bang my head against the wall. She slowed down, her eyes widening curiously at what she was seeing – I guess Hermione Granger didn't have break downs every day.

"What the hell are you staring at?" I growled, causing her to jump again and hurry away looking terrified.

"Shit" I muttered, strolling off down the corridor in the opposite direction, deciding on the spur of the moment that I needed some advice. For the first time in my life I was having girl problems and seeing as this whole thing was Dumbledore's fault, I was going to get him to sort it out.

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**A/N: Please review! **

**And just a quick question for future reference, would you guys mind it if Draco and Hermione got it on in any way in each other's bodies? Or would that just be too weird? **

**Next chapter avoides the issue (you'll see what i mean when you read it) but for later chapters I can't decide! Thanks :) **


	8. Above and beyond

**A/N: I really am overwhelmed by the amount of reviews i'm getting!**

**Thank you to everybody who answered my question about Hermione/Draco doing stuff while switched. You'll see that it doesn't come up in this chapter, but i've taken your views on board for when it does in future chapters :) **

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**Draco POV**

About to knock on the door to Dumbledore's study, I started to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. I should have gone to Ginny, who might be a Weasley, but seemed to be departing from tradition and actually had some brains. She would have undoubtedly had a solution, but then again, if I had told her, I would have had to have made up some excuse – upsetting Harry or Ron or something – because I couldn't tell her the truth.

With this in mind I knocked firmly on the door, deciding it was by far the easiest way.

"Come in" called Dumbledore.

Grimacing, I opened the door and walked in, my mind going back to the last time I'd been in this study, when Dumbledore had told me I was head boy. This wasn't exactly how I'd imagined my next visit; trapped in Hermione's body and wanting to know how to get her to like me again. If someone had told me a few weeks ago that this would be the case, I would have bet all the gold in my Gringott's vault that they were deluded or insane.

Dumbledore was seated behind his desk and looked up at me with a serene smile as I walked towards him.

"Ah Miss Granger – or as I should say, Mr Malfoy. Please take a seat."

I sat down opposite him in a squishy leather armchair, feeling awkward as he surveyed me over his half moon spectacles. I had absolutely no idea how to begin.

"How are you coping with the swap?" he prompted me, his blue eyes twinkling at the uncomfortable expression on my face. No doubt he was enjoying this immensely.

"Alright" I told him, "well it was, until about ten minutes ago."

"Dear me, I'm surprised you managed this long without an upset" Dumbledore mused. "Usually I get either the head boy or girl in here after a day begging me to reverse the switch."

"And do you?" I asked him hopefully.

He chuckled. "I'm afraid not. What would be the exact problem then Draco?"

"I said something" I began, and then broke off. Suddenly, even though I'd never cared for this man's good opinion in my life – my father continually drilling it into me that he was a muggle loving old fool – I didn't want him to know what I'd said to Hermione. The fact that we'd been starting to get on made my words sound even worse.

"Said what?" Dumbledore encouraged.

"It doesn't matter" I muttered.

"I believe that the very fact you are here means that it matters a great deal. I have never seen you more polite."

I looked up guardedly, wondering if I was being reprimanded, but the expression on Dumbledore's face was pleasant.

"Please continue" he said. It wasn't really an order, but was said with enough firmness that I felt the need to reply.

I sighed. "I said something to Hermione which I regret and I don't know how to make it up to her."

There was a slight pause while Dumbledore thought this over, until –

"I have to say that I am delighted Draco."

"What?" I asked, looking up to him incredulously. Maybe he really was loosing it after all.

"Well, let me rephrase that. Obviously I'm not thrilled that you insulted Miss Granger, but your show of remorse is extremely promising. Proof that the switch does work" he beamed. "I'll have to tell Professor McGonagall. She's been asking me for years whether it was a necessary tradition. But I feel it is one of my most brilliant inventions, though I say so myself."

"Err, right" I said.

Thinking that this was all the answer I was going to receive, I stood up to go. I was half way to the door when Dumbledore started speaking again.

"I think that the course you must take, Draco, is honesty. The truth will out, after all. Tell her the truth, and you will find that everything else follows from there."

"Thank you" I replied, turning to see that he had picked up a magazine about knitting patterns and started to read it. "I think" I muttered.

"And Draco?"

I turned back to face him. "Yes headmaster?"

"I'm going to reverse the switch for the next twenty four hours. I feel that if you are showing this degree of repentance then you deserve a reward. Moreover, there are certain things which you can only say in your own body and which are most effective coming from your own mouth. Apologies are one of them."

"I see" I said, although I didn't. Not in the slightest. "Thank you headmaster."

"You will return to your own body within the next hour and when you wake up the tomorrow morning, you should have transformed back into Miss Granger. You may go now Mr Malfoy."

Dismissed, I left his study and made my way back down the spiral staircase.

I wasn't looking forward to the next few hours at all, even if I would be in my own body.

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**Hermione POV**

I sat under a willow tree, the lake stretched out before me like a pale blue mirror, reflecting the colour of the sky that was, for once, not filled with clouds. The evening was cold and as a sharp gust of wind blew across the grounds, I wrapped my cloak tighter around my shoulders.

An hour ago I had received an owl from Professor Dumbledore informing me that the switch would be reversed for the remainder of the day. I wasn't sure why this was happening, but I knew that I definitely wasn't spending it the way I should be.

I felt vastly lonely. I longed to go and talk to Harry and Ginny about how I was feeling, or even Ron, his bad taste jokes and constant grumbling a better alternative to having no-one at all. I missed my friends so much it hurt, but going and being with them for one afternoon – which was what I was sure Dumbledore had intended me to do – would be too painful. I wouldn't be able to talk to them about what was going on, about what was distressing me, and trying to put on a brave face and pretend like nothing was wrong was beyond me.

To top it all off, the only person in the world I had to talk to since the switch was the very reason I was so upset.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on my knees, trying not to cry. Why did Draco's insults suddenly bother me so much? For six years he'd called me a mudblood, sometimes worse, and now was the first time I'd ever felt genuinely hurt by his words. I'd thought I was stronger than this. Sure enough in myself not to take his words to heart. So why was it affecting me this badly?

_Because you thought he liked you_ – the answer I'd been trying to hide from myself all afternoon came unbidden, into my mind. I sighed, finally allowing myself to consider what my brain was attempting to tell me. The reason that I was reacting like this was because I'd thought that Draco had started to like me, maybe even enjoy spending time with me. And if he didn't, then the fact I was beginning to enjoy being with him, much more than I should, was a thousand times more awful. We still fought the whole time, but it was in a jokey way, the only serious conversations being ones where we actually told each other stuff about our lives. In these last few days I'd discovered things about Draco that I'd never known – like his favourite colour being red, rather than green as I'd automatically assumed. But this had obviously just been me. Draco hated me as much as he always had.

"Hermione?"

I jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion into my thoughts and unnerved that someone had managed to get this close to where I was sitting without me noticing. I looked up, expecting it to be Harry, or perhaps Ron.

A jolt passed through my body when I saw it was Draco.

"Can I sit down?"

He was standing awkwardly a few feet away with his hands shoved into his robe pockets. The expression on his face was one that I'd worn so many times when I was about to confront Ron after an argument, or tell Harry that I disapproved of some scheme he'd come up with, that I was momentarily speechless. Draco was anxious.

"Umm, ok" I said finally.

He sat down silently next to me, carefully leaving a small gap between us – I was thankful of it – and looked out over the water.

"I need to tell you something" he said at length.

I turned my head so that I could see his face. It was odd to see blond hair again when I looked at him, instead of my own. The weeks spent in his body had messed my mind up, so when I looked into his eyes now, light grey and brooding, it was like I was also seeing a part of myself – the eyes I'd seen in the mirror so often in the last few days. This made me feel as if he had intruded into the most precious part of my being; it was like he actually owned a part of me now. And this made me exceptionally angry.

"You want to tell me _why_ my blood is so filthy?" I fired at him furiously. "Or exactlythe reason why I shouldn't touch your belongings?"

"No! Not at all."

He sounded so unhappy by my suggestion that I closed my mouth, all the fight draining out of me as quickly as it had come. It didn't matter anyway, did it? He was just lying, pretending to care about what he'd said so I wouldn't be annoying to put up with for the rest of the term.

"Hermione" Draco murmured, so softly that despite by better judgement, I looked back into his eyes. They were burning with something I'd never seen there before – sincerity.

"_Please_ listen to me. I know what I said to you was unforgivable, and I know I've said it a hundred times before. I can't take that back. But what I'm going to say now is what matters. I'm going to tell you the truth Hermione."

The use of my name more than anything else drew my attention.

"Believe you" I echoed. It wasn't a question. I wasn't doubting him. I was simply thinking aloud, his last two words causing my mind to fill with emotions – my longing for him to be telling the truth, the apprehension that I'd end up getting hurt again, my own stupidity for caring about him, the irrationality and the wonder, that in my head one week of almost-friendship had cancelled out six years of insults and mockery. Draco seemed to take my pause as a cue to carry on.

"When we first switched I was horrified, I couldn't believe Dumbledore was going to make me be you for a term. _You_, for Merlin's sake. It seemed like one big cosmic joke; turning me into one of the three people I'd spent my whole life hating."

I flinched at his words, even though I knew that he felt this way about me. He shot me a quick apologetic look, his eyes lingering on my face for a moment before continuing.

"Then I read his letter and suddenly all these hilarious possibilities opened up before me – I could ruin your life, break up the golden trio. And the thing is, I would have. I would have done it."

"I don't doubt that" I murmured. I was thinking about my own conviction to completely destroy his reputation.

"But then we had to spend time together" Draco said, and his voice had taken on a frantic quality, as if he was trying to get all his thoughts out into the open as quickly as possible, as much for his own sake as for mine. "We learnt everything about each other and tried not to be the first one to break in the stupid rivalry we'd set up. And then we ended up fighting, because seriously, what else would you have expected?"

I almost smiled at his words, but he was carrying on before I could reply.

"But I realised you could destroy my reputation as easily as I could yours and suddenly it didn't seem such a great idea. That's what I tried to tell myself anyway, that I was saving my own skin. But you were always _there,_ and we always ended up talking and spending time together. I told you stuff I've only ever told Blaise before. And I've no fucking idea _why_."

I was sitting motionless, my brain frozen. This was the most frank Draco had ever been with me. He seemed to be working himself up, his lips curling into a sneer.

"And then a part of me started to think I liked you, and before I knew it I could see everything I'd built for myself at Hogwarts crashing down around me. Because who would ever approve of us? A Gryffindor and a Slytherin? So I had to stop it before it got out of control."

His hand was balled in a fist at his side, and I could see where his nails were digging into his palm. I wanted to tell him to stop before he hurt himself, but I couldn't find the words.

"Then I felt guilty! You looked so hurt and I knew that I couldn't just leave it like that. Because there's something about you that I don't seem to be able to walk away from. And this whole thing, this whole thing is so _ridiculous_."

His voice was harsh, his face so close to mine that I could see myself reflected in his pupils. He was half angry, half desperate, but for some unknown reason an incredible sense of calm was spreading over me.

"I went to Dumbledore for advice, for fucks sake" he swore. "My father would kill me if he knew. If he wasn't locked away. And it's all because of you Hermione. What the hell have you done to me?"

At his last words, he reached out and cupped my cheek with his hand. My brain told me to flinch back from his touch, but I didn't. My instincts were taking over and they were telling me that I wanted him. Something that I hadn't quite been able to think while he'd been in my body. Now I was finding it hopeless to fight it.

"What have you done to me?" he murmured again.

And then his lips were on mine.

A spark of electricity seemed to pass through my body at his touch, all my senses screaming that this was thoughtless, insane, impossible, but as I felt his arm wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to him, any resistance I had seemed to melt away.

At first Draco was soft and hesitant, but when I didn't pull back his kisses became fiercer. At his urgency, I laced my fingers through his hair and pressed myself closer against him, wanting to feel as much of his body on mine as I could. All that mattered was his hand at the small of my back, the taste of his breath in my mouth. My skin burnt wherever he touched me, his fingers brushing the sliver of exposed skin between my skirt and my blouse and all I could think was that the clothes were getting in the way. And then he was pushing me back gently onto the ground so that I was lying down with him on top of me, the damp grass soaking my robes – like I even cared.

This wasn't like kissing Krum; this was exhilarating and liberating and completely right all at once. It was like there was something about Draco that had bothered me until this moment but I hadn't even realised, but now we were kissing everything fit into place. This scared and delighted me in equal measure and caused me to grasp the back of his robes tighter so that he couldn't pull away. Because the moment this kiss ended reality would catch up with us and I'd have to start thinking what all this meant. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy the feel of his lips working their way down my jaw and along my collar bone, the way he was whispering my name against my neck.

"Hermione." Draco broke the kiss, drawing himself up onto his elbows so that he could look down into my face. For a moment I gazed at the stars above his head, so far away, yet shining so brightly that they seemed to light up the whole sky. I was breathing in ragged gasps and the coldness of the earth I was lying on was starting to seep into my bones. Everything about this was completely _animal._ Impulses and passion overriding my accustomed rationality.

"Hermione." He murmured my name again and my eyes found his. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know" I whispered back. And for the first time in my life, I really didn't.

"This is all kinds of wrong" Draco sighed.

"I know."

God, I knew that. It was one of the few things left that actually made sense.

"We're supposed to hate each other."

"I know."

"We're going to be trapped in each other's bodies for the rest of term."

"I _know_."

His list of complications seemed to run out at this point.

"Christ, you don't know what you're doing to me" he groaned and closed the gap between us again.

I wasn't really sure how we got to Draco's bedroom, or how we managed to keep our hands off each other on the way there, but all of a sudden I was lying on his bed and he was undoing the buttons on my shirt. When I was down to my underwear, his eyes ran over my body.

"God, you're beautiful" he told me.

The way he was looking at me produced a slow, warm ache between my thighs and I wanted him to start_ touching_ me. It felt wanton to be thinking these things, but there was something about him that was intoxicating. I needed him.

"Draco" I moaned, arching my hips towards him so he would know what I wanted.

"It's ok, love" he said, and then he was cupping my breasts, his thumbs rubbing soft circles round my nipples, teasing them into peaks. He bit down hard on one of them and I cried out in pleasure as his tongue began to trace the same pattern that his hands had. I could hear the smirk in his voice when he spoke to me.

"You like that?"

"Yes" I mewed, feeling completely exposed to him, completely at his mercy, but unable to think of anything else apart from what he would feel like inside me. "Draco, go _lower_" I instructed him.

His hands gripped my hips and he began to run a line of kisses between my breasts, down across my stomach – I broke out in goose bumps, shivering at his touch – until he was licking the soft skin on the inside of my thigh.

"Like this?" he asked. His fingers brushed along my pants, feeling how wet I was for him. He pressed lightly against my opening, through the material, and I began to feel an intense pulsing sensation.

"Stop teasing!"

He laughed and then he was pulling my pants down and his fingers were slipping up inside me. It felt so good, the way he was pushing so deep into me, moving in and out, faster and faster and then he was rubbing my clit with his thumb and I could feel the tension in my body building; I was tightening around him, starting to lose control. He continued to work my clit and I was trembling, waves of pleasure rushing over me as he slipped a second finger inside and began to thrust into me even harder. When I came I called out his name and his mouth was suddenly pressed against mine and he was whispering against my lips.

"Hermione, I need you right now."

I nodded in assent and he began undoing his trousers. I watched him, thinking how gorgeous he was, knowing that even though I'd seen his whole body before it had never been in this way and had never been so arousing. When he was naked, I reached across and put my hand around his erection, starting to rub up and down. He groaned and closed his eyes and an exultant sense of power retuned to me. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

"Stop" he said after a minute, his voice low and husky. "I'm going to come otherwise."

"I want you in me" I murmured, "I want you – "

"_Fuck" _he said, cutting me off when a bruising kiss.

A second later he was thrusting himself up inside me, hard and fast, filling me completely. I cried out, unable to believe how amazing this felt, how utterly right we were together.

I let myself fall to pieces around him.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, well I haven't really written much smut before (which is why the last bit was quite short) so what did you think? **

**Please review and tell me! **


	9. The Unknown

**A/N: wow 100 reviews! I'm literally gobsmacked (in a good way) :D Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! They really do make my day and keep me motivated :) **

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**Draco POV**

I was waiting for her in the common room when she came down the stairs yawning, her hair tousled, wearing a pink dressing gown that looked ludicrous on me.

When I'd woken up with her body draped across mine and my arm wrapped around her I'd felt so _satisfied_. Last night had been amazing, and that wasn't just because of the sex – which, for the record, was incredible. After round two we'd stayed up talking for hours (until round three had effectively shut that conversation off) and I could safely say I had never done that with a girl before. Usually I left as soon as they fell asleep as it saved the recriminations – or, even worse, the "relationship" questions – of the morning after. But all I could think with Hermione was that I never wanted to let her go.

That was when I had opened my eyes and looked down. And realised that I had breasts.

So some time in the night we'd turned back into each other, and however secure I was with my sexuality, it had kind of (ok, massively) freaked me out to be cuddling with a naked guy – even if it was myself. Which is why she'd woken up alone.

"Good morning" she said, as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She stood by the banisters, fidgeting.

"Hey" I greeted her, patting the space beside me, indicating that she should come and sit down. I'd been awake for what seemed like hours, trying to make sense of everything that had happened the night before – and where we were going to go from here – but coming up short. The only thing that seemed simple in this whole fucking mess, so obvious that it amazed me I hadn't realised it before, was the fact that Hermione Granger was perfect for me (and yeah, I knew I sounded like I'd lost my balls – which ironically I actually had – but there was no denying the facts.)

"Hi" she said shyly, sitting down next to me, but not close enough that it would mean anything. I could tell she was nervous and without really thinking I reached over and took her hand.

"You ok?" I asked.

"Yes" she said, and after a moment she broke into a smile. "I am."

I grinned at her reaction.

"So?" I said, lifting up our entwined hands to show her what I was talking about. "Last night – "

"Was amazing. It's what I've been wanting for the past week" she told me. "Without really realising it. It was driving me crazy."

"Me too" I admitted, "but hell, it was complicated."

Her smile faded. "It still is complicated" she said softly. "But I'm happy to – "she faltered, trying to find the right words. "What I mean is that –". She paused again and looked up at me with vulnerable eyes. "I'm willing to work at it."

"Yeah?" The answer to this question meant more to me than anything had in a long time.

"Yes. I want us to try being together." She said the words slowly, as if she was trying them out, getting the feel of them. I thought they sounded fucking amazing personally.

"But I'm not sure we should go public" she continued. "Being inside each other's bodies it would just make it all too hard."

"Whatever you want."

"And I definitely want to be the one to explain this to Harry and Ron. If we went public now they'd come after you in a matter of seconds demanding to know what Malfoy had done to you. And then you'd undoubtedly say something crass about how hot you thought you were and Ron would probably try to beat me up."

"You could so take him…"

She thwacked me on the arm.

"But obviously I don't want him attacking my girlfriend" I carried on hurriedly.

"Oh, so I'm your girlfriend now am I?" she said, her eyes bright with amusement.

"Well I don't make out with random girls who aren't my girlfriend."

Hermione snorted. "That's the biggest lie I've ever heard! What about Pansy? And Cho? And – "

"Ok, maybe I _used_ to make out with random girls" I amended. "But from now on, it's only you."

"It had better be" Hermione murmured, her voice full of laughter as she leaned in close to whisper in my ear. "Because I have the perfect revenge planned."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" I asked roughly. She was practically sitting on my lap at this point and all I could think about was last night, the way she'd tilted her head back when she came, her mouth parted, so beautiful as I made her lose it.

"Remember those corduroy trousers of yours?" she purred.

Now she'd knotted her fingers in my hair and was tipping her head temptingly to one side.

I managed a groan of assent, still lost in memories of the night before.

She closed the gap between us so that she was speaking against my lips.

"Well, let's just say that Hogwarts will be seeing a lot more of them."

Then suddenly she was pulling back and there was a hardness pressing against my thigh and all at once it dawned on me what it was. Was she really…she couldn't seriously be…? But I looked down and saw the bulge in her pants. _Holy mother of Merlin._

Hermione Granter was aroused. In my body.

Feeling her against me was THE single oddest and highly disturbing experience of my life. I could feel myself starting to panic – because even though she was really Hermione, she was a guy right now. _Breathe, Malfoy. Everything's fine. Don't lose your head. _

And now – I didn't now why, I didn't know what it was and hell, I wasn't sure I _wanted_ to know – there was a strange warm sensation curling in my lower abdomen that made me want to kiss her, whatever body she was in. I was struck with a sudden urge to grind myself against her erection, wanting to rub it, feel pleasure in return. And this caused me to completely freak out. Because what the _hell_? I was still straight right? If Blaise could see me now…

I tried to reason with myself, to retain some of the last vestiges of logic that seemed to have abandoned me. I wanted _Hermione. _The girl I had slept with last night. The fact that she was in a male body now was irrelevant. But I could feel myself tightening – down below. _Shit_. What was this? And it felt good, kind of a warm pressure – but it scared the fuck out of me too. This must just be her hormones responding to my emotions, right?

_Fucking Dumbledore_.

"Hermione" I managed to grind out.

I was throbbing, leaning unconsciously towards her.

"Yes?" She pulled back and I looked into her eyes. I could see my own panic mirrored there, mixed with something else too.

"You're – turned on by me?" I managed to ask her.

"I can't help it" she moaned. "It just sort of happened. And, it feels _weird _Draco. I need you to…I don't know. How do I…?"

"I don't know if I can do it for you. It would be too… disturbing."

"Why am I attracted right now?" her voice was rising in pitch, taking on a hysterical quality. "I was thinking about kissing you and then it just sort of… happened! But how can I be feeling anything… _lustful_ towards you right now? You're in my body! Doesn't that mean I fancy myself?"

"No" I said firmly. I wanted desperately to believe this for my own sake. "We're thinking sexual things about each other and its triggering a response from our new bodies. But what we're actually thinking about it last night. Correct?"

"Yes" she agreed.

"So I'm thinking about you as a girl, you're thinking about me as a boy. It's totally normal."

I said this with such determined conviction that it caused Hermione's lips to quirk in to a smile.

"Normal? Really?" she said, and then suddenly she was laughing, a slightly frantic, out of control laugh.

"This is so unbelievably messed up" she said between giggles. "I'm sure Dumbledore would never have initiated the whole switch idea if he thought this was ever going to happen. Completely confusing the sexuality of head boys and girls for generations!"

"You never know. I've always been convinced he had quite a warped state of mind."

She hiccupped herself back into seriousness and rolled her eyes. "You are _such_ a Slytherin!"

I grinned. "Yeah, well. You're such a Gryffindor."

I didn't think I'd ever said the word "Gryffindor" before without sneering or insulting it. So really, this was a groundbreaking moment.

Huh. Maybe Dumbledore was a genius after all.

* * *

**Hermione POV**

Draco and I arrived late for breakfast.

Yes, I'd sort of just made out with myself, but I'd decided that if I didn't think about any of this too rationally then it was all ok. _Just don't think about what you had to do in the toilets to sort yourself out. _

I shuddered, not wanting to remember what it had felt like to "knock one out" as Draco had to crudely put it as he called instructions out to me through the bathroom door. Of course, I'd done it before to a guy. But this time I'd been doing it to myself, with all the accompanying feelings. It had been a very odd experience, but not at all unpleasant. However, it was not something which I really wanted to dwell on. It was entirely too _sticky_ for my liking. And I'd never been too keen on self gratification even in my own body, so doing it in a male body, where I seemed to have no control over my own urges and sensations had been disorientating and had almost made me want to cry. But still, it had been an experience, and experiences were important in terms of education (this is what I kept telling myself).

In light of this, I was mentally trying to work out whether having an orgasm felt better in a male or female body – I was inclined to think female, but perhaps that was just because I hadn't been very relaxed this morning and also a bit disgusted with myself – when I took a seat at the Slytherin table and Blaise asked me gleefully if I'd been making out with Cho. I felt a blush creep up my neck and had to busy myself buttering a piece of toast to avoid his question.

Blaise took my silence to mean yes. "Dude! You nailed her, didn't you?"

"No!"

Quite apart from the fact I was affronted he was using such course language, I felt uncomfortable that he could tell I'd been making out with _someone. _Obviously the actual person I'd been with was the last person he would think of, but it still made me uneasy.

"Whatever man, I can tell when you've got lucky" Blaise told me, as he poured milk onto his cereal. "You always saunter in with that cocky look plastered all over your face."

"I do not saunter" I snapped. After one day attempting to pull off Draco's swagger I'd realised I made him look constipated and had stopped.

"Sure Draco, whatever you say." I could tell he still didn't believe me about the Cho thing but he decided to drop the subject. I wasn't entirely sure why I wasn't just pretending I had been making out with her, but that would probably lead to a whole new bout of questioning that I wasn't equipped to answer.

"What was up with you last night anyway?" Blaise asked casually.

"What?"

"You know, the whole "I'm a big scary Malfoy and I'm really pissed off" routine. What was up?"

Our argument of the day before suddenly came back to me. With everything that had happened last night, I'd genuinely forgotten about what had happened with Blaise.

"Err, what did I say?" I hedged.

"You yelled at me for suggesting you should go to the hospital wing. I thought maybe you'd got a letter from your dad or something."

I looked up to find that Blaise was watching me, but the second our eyes met his glazed flicked down to his breakfast. I could tell that he was worried, but in a typical guy like way didn't want to seem overly sensitive. In the end I'd never found time to ask Draco to come up with a reason to explain why I'd acted so strange. But getting a letter from his bastard Dad seemed a good enough excuse.

"Yeah" I said, trying to sound stoic. "It arrived yesterday."

Blaise looked up again and this time his expression was stern. "You need to tell him to leave you alone mate. There's no point in letting him rant on about how you have to uphold the family name now he's locked up. Just tell him he's a worthless, pathetic death eater and that you're better off without him."

I could tell that this was a conversation he and Draco had had before and that last time Blaise had lost the argument. Surprised, I wondered why Draco continued to read letters from his father after everything he'd told me about the way he'd abused him.

"I know" I told Blaise.

"You do?" Blaise sounded as surprised as I felt.

"Yes. What's the point in letting him ruin my life?"

This was exactly what I was going to tell Draco later.

"Last time you said that even thought they were full of crap they only came once a month, so what was the point in bothering to tell him to stop." Blaise still seemed dubious.

"So?" I said.

"So you've changed your mind?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." And I was definitely going to change Draco's too.

"Glad to hear it" said Blaise, smacking his hand down on the table to emphasise his point. "How bout we throw a party to celebrate? We've still got that crate of firewhiskey left over from last year."

"Err, sure?"

Who was I to deny him the right to get hung over?

"Excellent" Blaise grinned.

* * *

**Draco POV**

Over at the Gryffindor table I was finding it extremely hard not to smirk every time somebody said Hermione's name. It kept reminding me of what she'd said this morning about how pissed off Ron and Harry would be if they found out we were dating and it gave me great enjoyment to think that I was corrupting her without their knowledge.

"Hey Mione, what you doing this afternoon?" Harry asked me through a mouthful of croissant.

_Hopefully you're best friend_. Out loud I said "homework."

"Again?" Ron looked aghast.

"I have a Runes essay I need to finish" I lied.

"Oh." Harry sounded disappointed. "It's just we were going to go to Hogsmede."

"Why aren't you going with Ginny?" I asked. Kudos to me for sounding like I actually gave a damn.

"She's got detention" said Harry gloomily. "Snape caught her trying to break into his study."

"Ouch" I winced. "He must have gone mental. I remember one time when Blaise and – "I snapped my mouth shut, mentally cursing myself.

Harry shot me a funny look. "Blaise as in Blaise Zabini?"

"What the hell were you doing with him?" asked Ron, sounding furious.

"Um, it was one time ages ago when I stayed after class to ask about the homework" I invented hurriedly. "And Zabini was still packing his bag up."

"Oh" said Ron, seemingly satisfied with my answer. Jeez, Hermione really needed to tell him to stop sounding so possessive.

"So what happened with Snape?" Harry asked.

"Well, he thought he heard a noise coming from his office" I said slowly "and then stormed off looking like a bat with a death wish."

Ron laughed. "Yup, sounds like Snape all right. He genuinely gave me detention the other day for "loitering". I mean, who does that?"

Harry snorted. "Well you do look really suspicious when you're loitering."

"Shut up Harry."

I smiled. Sometimes it was weird that scarhead and Weasley actually sounded like normal human beings rather than morons.

"So you're definitely not coming to Hogsmede then?" Harry asked as we were walking out of the hall.

I grimaced. "I really don't think that I – "

"Granger. Can I have a word?"

I turned round to find Hermione standing behind me trying to pull off a sneer. This made me want to laugh so much that I almost forgot to reply. Harry and Ron had stopped beside me and were glaring at her. It was their usual reaction on seeing me but I knew it must be weird for her to have her two best friends looking like they wanted to hex her.

"Can't it wait Malfoy?" I replied coolly, remembering to stay in character.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's not like I want to waste my time with you, but McGonagall would like us to hand in the plan for the Yule Ball."

"Fine" I snapped. "Harry, Ron, I'll see you later."

Without looking to see the expressions on their faces I followed Hermione across the entrance hall and down the passageway into the dungeons. We walked in silence until Hermione found an empty classroom and then she pushed me inside before following me in, locking the door behind her.

* * *

**Hermione POV**

"Well well well, isn't this kinky?" Draco smirked, wrapping his arms around my waste and pulling me against him. It was still weird that he was pulling me against my _own_ body, but I decided to ignore this for the moment.

"Shut up Draco" I said, swatting at him. "We need to talk."

"You mean you haven't dragged me in here to have rampant sex?" he asked.

"Not this time" I laughed. "Maybe if you play your cards right."

"I can play them any way you want, love."

"Ok, just stop being a whore for a minute and listen to me" I said, rolling my eyes.

He grinned. "So what's up?"

"Blaise is organising a party for me, so we can't hang out this afternoon."

He frowned. "Great, that means I genuinely have to do homework."

"What?"

"Harry and Ron invited me to Hogsmede. " He paused and grimaced. "But I said I was working. And now that working doesn't actually mean making out with you, I'm going to have to do that Runes essay."

"Why don't you go with them?" I suggested. "You might have fun."

He shot me a sceptical look. "Really? An afternoon of Ron fawning over me and Harry moping around and harping on about how much he misses Ginny."

I sighed. "Well at least you're calling them by their first names now. I suppose that's all I can ask for."

"It is."

"You don't like them even a tiny bit?" I knew they'd had their differences, but Harry and Ron really were lovely people. And if Draco and I could put aside our differences in such a spectacular way, then there was hope for them yet.

"I'm putting up with them for your sake."

I smiled. "That's sweet."

"I'm only tying to get into your pants. So what's this party for anyway?"

I began to shift uncomfortably as I thought about my conversation with Blaise. I knew that Draco didn't like talking about his father at the best of times and the fact that I'd been meddling in his business wasn't going to make him any happier about the subject.

"Err… you know how I kind of yelled at Blaise last night?" I said tentatively.

He nodded.

"Well, he thought I was pissed off because I'd gotten a letter from your father" I mumbled.

Draco's face went blank. His jaw clenched and I could tell he was trying very hard to keep his emotions under control.

"And?" he asked stiffly.

"It seemed like a good get out so I kind of agreed. And then Blaise started lecturing me about how I should tell him to stop sending them. So I said he was right. And then he – "

"Organised a party" he said dryly.

"Erm, yes. Draco I'm really –"

"Don't be. It wasn't you fault."

"But I didn't mean to pry into your private life, it's just –"

"It's fine."

I was kind of hoping Draco would let me finish a sentence, but he seemed determined to stop me from speaking. I walked across the room and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Draco. Listen to me. Why do you let your dad write to you?" I asked him softly.

He was silent for a couple of minutes and I'd almost decided he wasn't going to give me an answer when he looked up into my eyes (it was weird that I was taller than him) and shrugged.

"I guess – even after everything… He's still my dad."

I didn't say anything, just leaned forward and kissed him. Like this morning, if I closed my eyes I could just about forget that I was actually kissing myself. I knew this all kinds of wrong – being attracted to a guy who's trapped as a girl and having feelings for him even though technically it meant I had feelings for myself. But he'd sounded so vulnerable and all I wanted was to make him understand that I cared. After a while he pulled back and there was a strange expression on his face.

"I've always wanted to tell him to stop. It's just, once I do, it's like I never had a father at all. He's not getting out of Azkaban any time soon."

"I get it Draco. You miss him. You don't need to explain anything to me or try to justify why – "

"But you know what he did to me. What he did to so many wizards during the War." Draco's voice was harsh, his eyes agonized. "How can I still love him? After everything he's done?"

"He's your father. Of course you still love him."

"He's a bastard!"

"That doesn't stop him from being the only family you know."

Draco's shoulders sagged. "You're right. I hate myself, but you're right."

"Of course I'm right, I'm Hermione Granger."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "How infuriating to have a girlfriend that's always right."

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**A/N: So they're becoming quite the little (albeit secret) couple :) **

**That is, until i throw in some unforseen complications next chapter or so... hehe**

**Please review! **


	10. Let the games begin

**A/N: I'm so sorry about the seriously long time between updates, but i've been real busy with exams and they've taken up all of my brain power. This chapter is quite short as i'm sort of easing myself back in, but expect lots to come as it's now summer and i have my life back! Hope you enjoy :)**

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**Draco POV**

I still couldn't believe Hermione had convinced me to spend the whole afternoon with Potter and Weasley. I mean seriously. A _whole afternoon_. It was like the worst method of torture I could ever have come up with.

Of course, they weren't quite as bad as I had always thought them to be. For a start I'd actually heard Harry swear the other day, which was practically unheard of (I was debating whether I should go and tell Dumbledore, just for kicks) and had made me laugh so much I'd been forced to stop off in the girls bathroom on the way to Charms to calm myself down. Then there was Ron, who when he wasn't staring at me like a lost puppy, could always be relied upon for a laugh. To laugh _at_, that is. But at least there wasn't ever a dull moment.

I'd met them in the entrance hall at two and we'd walked to Hogsmede together, Harry (as predicted) giving me a running commentary about how great it would have been if Ginny had been there. Ron had launched into a conversation about Quidditch with Dean Thomas who was walking behind us and I was appalled to discover that his favourite team was the Chudley Cannons.

"You what?" I demanded, rounding on him in disbelief. "The Cannons are terrible."

Dean grinned at me. "Thank you! That's what I've been trying to tell him."

"They beat the Tornadoes last weekend!" said Ron heatedly, his ear's turning red.

"Complete fluke. They hadn't won a single match all season until then" I said scathingly. "Torquay is their only decent player and they always resort to violence. Did you see that match a couple of seasons ago when they injured every single member of the Harpies?

"That was bloody" said Dean with relish. "Almost as good as football."

Having no idea what he was talking about I opened my mouth ask when I noticed Harry was staring at me in complete amazement. Ron's mouth was hanging open, but that seemed to be his usual expression so I couldn't tell if it was anything personal.

"Err, Harry? You alright?" I asked.

He raised both eyebrows. "Since when did you know anything about the Cannons?"

Damn. I'd forgotten about Hermione's complete and comprehensive ignorance when it came to all things concerning Quidditch.

"I read this book?" I ventured. At least that sounded believable at any rate.

"What book?"

"Quidditch through the Ages."

"I've been trying to get you to read that for years!" Harry said indignantly. "How come you're suddenly taking my advice now?"

"Malfoy left it lying around in the Head's dormitory" I shrugged. "And I decided I might as well give it a go."

"And he didn't yell at you for touching his stuff?"

I winced, thinking about all the times I'd shouted at Hermione for laying a finger on my books, sometimes even when she hadn't (in my defence, it had provided endless hours of amusement watching her try to navigate her way across the common room without treading on any of the stuff I'd left lying around).

"No. Not this time."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Maybe he's growing a soul at last."

Ron laughed and bumped fists with Harry before turning back to continue his discussion with Dean.

I ground my teeth together, forcing myself to smile too. Like I needed this dickhead speculating over the existence of my soul. But I doubted that Hermione would be happy if I used the fur sprouting curse that Blaise had taught me on her best friend, however much I told her it was entirely justified.

By this point we'd reached the edge of Hogsmede and the crooked buildings were rising higgledy-piggledy above our heads. Hogwarts students were milling around, chewing on sweets they'd just bought from Honeydukes and generally letting off steam.

"So" I said, set on changing the subject. There was only so much I could take before the urge would overwhelm me and Potter would end up with more than one frickin' scar. "Where are we going to first?"

"Flourish and Blotts?" Harry suggested. "I need to get a new quill. And then will you help me pick out a necklace for Ginny? It's her birthday coming up."

I groaned as Harry turned into the bookstore. It was going to be a fucking long day.

* * *

**Hermione POV**

Blaise, I had decided, was deliberately trying to make my life a living hell.

Which of course was ridiculous, because he thought I was Draco. And Draco would undoubtedly have appreciated the game of spin the bottle he was currently trying to organise with the rest of the Slytherin seventh years. Well, before the whole switch thing had started anyway. Because now we were in a relationship – albeit a clandestine one – and I sincerely hoped that spin the bottle was no longer something he would get mixed up in.

Just thinking the words _relationship_ and_ Draco_ in the same sentence caused me to feel light headed. Now that I could finally allow myself to feel what I'd been wanting to for the past week I realised how much I'd actually begun to like him. And not simply in terms of looks (there was a physical attraction that I just couldn't deny) but also the way which he made me laugh, the way he genuinely seemed to care about me and how he was opening up to me.

He still aggravated me beyond belief sometimes. But there was a softer side underneath the indifferent, sarcastic exterior. There was something – privately I thought it must be the way that he had been treated by his father in his childhood – that caused him to use insults and an assumed arrogance to push the world away. But I'd managed to get past that. He'd let me in. And I was still reeling.

Blaise, on the other hand, was somebody who I would dearly like to punch right now.

"Draco" he grinned, handing me the empty butterbeer bottle. "Why don't you go first?"

We were seated in a small circle in the Slytherin common. We were the only people there as everybody in third year and above was making use of the Hogsmede trip and Crabbe and Goyle had turned out all of the younger students so we could have our party undisturbed. Considering the industrial amounts of firewhiskey Blaise had somehow managed to smuggle into school at the beginning of the year – I was appalled, I really was – most of the assembled Slytherins were already drunk. Pansy was having to lean against the sofa in order to keep herself upright and Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrace were giggling uncontrollably to the left of Crabbe who was still finishing off some of the snacks we'd got from the kitchens. Goyle was sitting on my other side and raised an eyebrow at me when I didn't make a move to take the bottle.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing" I muttered, seeing no conceivable way out of this. I'd already tried to convince Blaise that I had to go, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. I leant forward and picked the bottle up with a sigh.

"Ok" said Blaise immediately. "Rules are, you have to kiss whoever the bottle lands on. No backing out, or I'll be coming up with forfeits."

"Isn't this a bit immature?" said Millicent. "I mean, spin the bottle? Really? I don't think I've played it since third year."

Daphne started giggling again. "Come on Millie. We're drunk. It's what drunk people do. We make out with our friends and then regret it in the morning."

Millicent sniffed. "True. But I don't see why we need a bottle to do it."

"Because it makes it more fun?" ventured Goyle.

"Exactly" Blaise smirked. "Draco, if you will."

I was really beginning to hate that boy. Reluctantly, I spun the bottle. And groaned inwardly when I saw who it had landed on.

"Pansy!" Daphne exclaimed. "Ooh how exciting."

Crabbe rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like those two have never kissed before."

"I don't think they actually do much kissing to be honest" said Blaise, shooting a sidelong glance at me.

I ignored him, trying to keep my expression neutral. The second the bottle had stopped spinning my pulse had started thumping, sending blood shooting round my body. It wasn't like I'd never kissed a girl before – we used to play spin the bottle during Quidditch after parties and I could remember one time when I'd had to kiss Alicia Spinnet and Fred and George had whooped loudly, making such inappropriate comments that I'd been forced to jinx them. But the fact that we'd both been girls had meant that it had just been quick and friendly, neither of us wanting the experience to go on for any longer than it had to.

This was different. To everyone else it would look like Draco and Pansy kissing, and I was certain that they would expect a great deal more than a peck on the lips. And considering their history, I was more than a little bit concerned that Pansy would try and take it ever further than _that_.

"Come on Draco" Pansy slurred, smiling at me in a way that she obviously thought was beguiling. "I'm ready and waiting."

"I don't want to take advantage of her while she's drunk" I said, adopting the most martyr-like expression that Draco could manage. "Look at her. She doesn't even know which way is up".

"Silly" said Pansy, dismissing the whole issue with a wave of her hand. "You've taken advantage of me plenty of times. S'all good."

"Yeah Malfoy, quit acting the gentleman. We want to see some action!" Daphne cheered.

With a knotted feeling in my stomach, I made my way across the circle and knelt down next to Pansy.

"Come here lover boy" she grinned, putting a hand at the back of my neck and clumsily smashing her lips against mine. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see her face; wanting to block everything out as much as possible so I would be able to look back at this moment without vomiting. I was kissing pugface. _Oh God…_

Actually, as the kiss went on longer and longer, I began to feel it wasn't that bad. Her lips were soft and I could smell vanilla – must be her shampoo or her perfume – mixed with the tangy smell of firewhisky. She seemed too drunk to do anything other than lace her fingers through my hair and push her body up as close to mine as she could. I was happy to find that Draco's body didn't seem to be responding to her in any way, like it had done this morning. Evidently, I was still in control of what it found attractive. After a while, I carefully disentangled myself from her and pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me reproachfully.

"I was 'joying that. S'nice and comfy."

"Yes, well. I didn't want to deprive the others of a chance to make out" I said, and hurriedly stood up so she couldn't kiss me again.

When I'd sat down in my place, Goyle picked up the bottle.

"Unlucky dude" he said to me, while he spun it. "She was so drunk she didn't even use tongue."

"A real pity" I muttered.

Goyle ended up kissing Daphne, who was drunk enough to have entirely lost her inhibitions but not so drunk that she was incapacitated like Pansy, which meant that we were treated to a rather graphic display. When she finally unwrapped herself from Goyle, her cheeks were flushed and his eyes were glazed.

"Now _that's_ how it should be done" she said as she sat back down.

"You obviously haven't seen the master at work then" Blaise smirked. It was his turn and he sent the bottle spinning with a casual flick of his wrist.

Much to my dismay, it landed on me. I automatically assumed that Blaise would try and back out, but then I remembered something about Slytherin sex competitions that Draco had told me when we were first learning things about each other. _You don't have to go for girls. Blaise doesn't always. _Maybe he would want to kiss Draco. I looked over at him, slightly apprehensive. How would Draco respond to this? Would he mind kissing Blaise in return? Or should I kick up a fuss?

"Well then" Blaise grinned, meeting my eyes and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Hows about some hot guy on guy action?"

Daphne giggled. "Doesn't sound too bad from where I'm sitting."

I was still frozen in confusion, unsure how to react when Blaise pushed himself up and sauntered across the circle. When he leaned over me, causing my blood pressure to spike erratically – I couldn't help it, he was very attractive and looking at me with an almost predatory glint in his eye – he whispered low in my ear.

"Make this good, ok? Girls are turned on by guys make out. And I'm nearly in with Daphne."

Before I even had time to really register what he'd said, let alone reply, his lips were on mine.

At first I stayed still, unresponsive and unyielding. Never mind whether this was something Draco would normally do, what would Draco say when I told him I'd made out with his best friend? But it would look weird if I pushed Blaise away now, and despite how annoying I found him, he really was a very good kisser. His hand was warm on my neck, tilting my head gently to the side so he could deepen the kiss. _Really very good_. I supposed Draco was comfortable enough with his own sexuality for this to be ok and he would see it as doing Blaise a favour. He couldn't honestly mind… and Blaise was running his tongue along my bottom lip in a way that was hard to resist…

I sighed, deciding that I might as well go along with it. Blaise took this as an excuse to slide his tongue into my mouth and then my arms were coming up instinctively and wrapping round his neck. The kiss became suddenly hot, but it was slow and languid and luxurious too and I could tell that Blaise obviously had a lot of experience in this area. He was pushing his hips into mine, grinding against me and all the blood in my body started rushing down to my – I was still loathed to say this – groin.

It was then that I realised what was about to happen if I didn't push Blaise away. I was sure that Draco would most certainly _not _appreciate it if I got an erection whilst kissing another guy, so I took my hands down from where they had tangled in Blaise's soft black hair and pulled away. We were both out of breath, and when he looked at me his eyes were dark with something that made me want to shudder.

Then abruptly he broke into a smirk.

"Good" he murmured. "That was good."

And then he was turning back to Daphne – would did seem to be staring at him in a different way to how she had been before – leaving me flustered and entirely unsure how to break any of this to Draco. I didn't think he would be _jealous_ exactly. Because it was spin the bottle, which meant it didn't really count. But still. Could I bluff and say that's what I thought he would have done in this situation? Obviously the not letting his best friend down part, rather than the being turned on by said best friend, but I wasn't sure he would believe that. Maybe I was overreacting. Draco would most likely find it funny, especially seeing as I also had to make out with Pansy (ok forget funny, that would probably fulfil some teenage boy fantasy he had going on) and ask me to give him a blow by blow account.

"Hey Draco?"

I looked up to find Goyle looking at me curiously.

"What?"

"Did you and Blaise plan that?" He jerked his head towards Blaise and Daphne, who were now kissing. I was bemused to find that his plan had actually worked so well. I shook my head.

"No. Well, maybe Blaise planned it. But I was just an unsuspecting assistant in his sexual pursuits."

Goyle laughed. "You can't stop him when he gets like that."

"Tell me about it."

"So does this mean the game's over?"

"Looks like it."

Pansy seemed to be unconscious, which I had a vague notion somebody should be more concerned about, and Crabbe and Millicent had started drinking again (I was sure they would regret this immensely in the morning). It seemed like a good time to go, before I was forced to kiss any more Slytherins. I'd definitely taken up my lifetime quota in a single night.

"Well I think I'll head off then" I said, getting to my feet. "It was a good party" I called over to Blaise by way of a goodbye. He was too engrossed by Daphne to pay me any attention so I slipped out of the common room and into the cool passage way outside before anyone could stop me.

Draco would probably be asleep considering how late it was, most likely worn out from his day of pretending to enjoy Harry and Ron's company. I thought longingly of my two best friends and the kind of evening we would have had if I'd still been in my own body. Probably curled up by the fire, me reading while Harry and Ron played wizard's chess or attempted to catch up on some essay or other that I'd finished weeks ago. I felt a sharp pang of sadness, thinking how long it had been since I'd spent any time with them. Still, at least I now had Draco. And a lot of explaining to do in the morning.

Wonderful.

* * *

**A/N: So, i hope this chapter wasn't too much of a let down after the long break! Let me know what you think :)**


	11. The opposite of truth

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last two chapters and for all the favourites and alerts! I love knowing what you guys think :) **

* * *

** Draco POV**

I was fighting extremely hard to keep the grin off my face.

"You kissed Pansy?"

"No Draco, I said I kissed _Blaise_."

"But before that, you said you kissed Pansy, right?"

Hermione looked exasperated. "Well yes. But that's not what I'm worried about! I'm worried that I kissed your male best friend in front of the rest of your house. I mean, what on earth are they going to think? I've been freaking out all night about what _you _we going to think, if you would be mad at me or if –"

"Did anyone take a photo?"

"A photo?" She blinked in surprise. It was cute, the fact that she had no idea what I was thinking. I allowed myself the smirk I'd been holding back.

"Of you and Pansy?"

Realisation dawned and then she was smacking me round the head. "Oh honestly! Have you even been listening to me at all? Or just fantasising?"

For a matter of fact, since she'd uttered the six magic words every guy wants to hear – "me", "another girl" and "spin the bottle" – I'd sort of phased out. Though Pansy was one of the most annoying people I'd met in my life, there was no denying the fact that she was hot (I mean, would I ever have slept with her if she wasn't? – ok, maybe don't answer that one) and the thought of her and Hermione together was enough to make whatever else my girlfriend was saying worthless.

"Well seriously" I said, raising an eyebrow. "What did you expect? My ex girlfriend and my current girlfriend make out and you want me to let it pass without comment?"

"I was in your body remember!" Hermione told me. "So even if some perverted Slytherin – and I'm pretty sure there are plenty of them, Blaise included – decided to take pictures then it wouldn't be what you're imagining."

My face fell. "I hadn't thought of that." My imagination had been overrun with visions of pillow fights and negligee and king beds. I came back to reality reluctantly.

Hermione crossed her arms, smug. "Exactly. Which gets us back to the point I was trying to make earlier, that I made out with Blaise _while I was in your body_."

I was silent for a moment, considering.

"Did Pansy use tongue?" I asked eventually.

"_Draco_!"

"Ok ok." I held up my hands in surrender, laughing. Can't blame a guy for trying to build up an accurate mental picture.

"So are you mad?" She asked, an anxious frown creasing her forehead. I was distracted from answering by the sight of such a vulnerable expression on my own face. I usually tried very hard to keep that kind of emotion private, as my father used to exploit every weakness I made him aware of. If I showed pain after he performed a curse on me, he would cast it again and again until I learnt indifference. When I was younger, if I particularly liked a book or toy he would destroy it in front of me to teach me not to become attached to things. He said he was showing me how to be strong, how to defeat my enemies. How not to feel emotions that made me weak. All he did was make me hate him even more. But when I had come to Hogwarts I'd kept the pretence up, not allowed by emotions to show because I thought it would only end in me getting hurt. It took years for me to let my guard down and even then it was only around the few people I knew I could trust, like Blaise and Crabbe and Goyle. During the war it had been imperative for me not to give anything away, especially when I was under the watchful eye of Dumbledore, because despite the fact that I had refused to help my father help Voldemort, I knew he would kill me if I revealed his plans. So seeing that kind amount of vulnerability in my own expression was unsettling. I tried not to let my discomfort show.

"About you and Blaise?" I asked. "Why would I be?"

Hermione looked slightly taken aback. "Well, because we're supposed to be going out and I kissed your best friend…"

"Spin the bottle" I shrugged. "Normal rules don't apply."

This was something I was very adamant about, as when I'd been sleeping with and kind-of-dating Daphne in Fifth year, I'd kissed Astoria Pucey during a drunken game at a party and she'd never let me forget about it, going on and on about my inability to commit (because duh, like I needed that pointing out to me). Blaise agreed that I'd done nothing wrong, but the rest of the girls all felt I'd betrayed her trust or some crap. Millicent always talked about some programme she watched called _Friends_ whenever we referred to it, saying it was like the whole "Ross and Rachel on a break" thing. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was inclined to think that Ross had a point. Anyway, my reassurances didn't seem to make Hermione feel any better, because she bit down on her bottom lip and carried on.

"And also because I didn't know whether it was the kind of thing you would normally do" she fretted. "I mean, would you have done it? If it had been you there? I didn't want to do something that was entirely out of character, it could give the game away completely!"

I reached over and took her hand, rolling my eyes as I did so. She still had so much to learn about Slytherin parties. "Really Hermione, don't worry about it. You'd be appalled at the kind of stuff that goes down after a few crates of fire whiskey have been polished off. Two guys making out barely elicits comment anymore. And anyway, it's one of Blaise's go to moves."

She let out a sigh of relief and laced her fingers through mine. I could feel the tension draining out of her body as she snuggled up against me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"What do you mean, it's one of Blaise's "go to moves"?" she asked.

"I'm not sure I should tell you. It isn't for innocent ears such as your own."

"I think I can handle it Draco" she said, giving my hand a squeeze. "I have just been severely corrupted by Blaise after all."

I grinned. "Fine. Basically, Blaise and I have always worked together to, err, pick up girls. And Blaise is under the – I must admit correct – impression that two guys making out turns girls on. So, sometimes that's what we do if our other moves aren't going to plan…" I trailed off suggestively.

Hermione twisted round so she could look at my face. "You mean that you and Blaise do that _a lot_?"

"Turned on?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

She turned red. "No! I mean, yes. I suppose if I saw it… I don't know! It just seems an odd thing to do. Do you_ like_ it?"

"It's only kissing" I said, thinking about the conversation me and Blaise had had years ago when we first started initiating that particular plan. I had been very adamant in telling him that it didn't make us in the slightest gay, as we were only doing it to hook up with girls. Blaise had said that it didn't matter to him if it did make us look gay, as he was cool either way. After that, I'd relaxed about the whole thing and sexuality had become less of an issue with our group of friends. I was definitely straight, but so many people around me seemed to like to experiment that kissing Blaise once in a while was practically normal. "It's a means to an ends" I told Hermione.

"Maybe when we switch back you can do it in front of me" she said, a mischievous smile lighting up her face. "I must admit, I'm intrigued."

I laughed. "It's a date baby."

She snuggled closer in to me and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Well I'm glad I didn't destroy your reputation or anything" she said.

I snorted. "Yeah, because you've been so worried about that in the past."

"That was different! Back then I was trying to get back at you for wearing that monstrosity which you called a dress in the Gryffindor common room."

"Only because you were intent on wearing corduroy" I reminded her. "I mean _corduroy. _Seriously! Whoever invented that material should be put in Azkaban."

"I still haven't given up on the possibility of you wearing it in the future."

"The only way you'll get corduroy on me is when I'm dead" I said firmly.

"I was thinking maybe I could wear it to the Yule Ball…" Hermione suggested.

"No" I said immediately.

"But why? It makes you look so cute!"

"Just no."

"For me Draco? Please?" Her voice turned sugary sweet. "I could even put my hair in that centre parting you love so much."

"We might be going out, but I am _not _allowing you to style me" I said firmly.

Hermione sighed. "Oh well. Once we switch backs I'll have years to convince you."

"Years?" I couldn't keep the smile out of my voice as I realised she was still envisaging us being together that far in the future.

"Years" she agreed.

* * *

Walking into Charms, my eyes immediately sought Hermione out. She was sitting at the back of the class next to Blaise, sunlight pouring in through the window behind her and illuminating her/my (the whole thing still confused me sometimes) blond hair. I grinned as I walked over to take my seat by Ron, noticing how she was tipped back causally on her chair, something I was positive she'd never done as a Gryffindor. Evidently, I was having a good effect on her.

Then the smile was completely wiped off my face as Pansy leaned across her desk and put a hand on Hermione's thigh, looking up at her and fluttering her lashes shamelessly. I was filled with an absurd anger, a consuming desire to punch the closest thing in sight (which indecently would have been Weasley, so win win really). What the hell gave Pansy the right to touch her? Ok, I knew Pansy thought she was me, and I'd spent enough nights with her to make her think she could crawl back for sex anytime she wanted. And the fact that she thought she'd made out with me only last night in spin the bottle. But the whole thing still made me want to hex her face off.

"Miss Granger?"

"Hmm?" I turned back to face the front of the class, trying to reign in my rage, to find Professor Flitwick looking at me expectantly.

"Could you please explain to the class the correct incantation needed to perform a tickling charm?" He asked me.

I was nonplussed. "Professor, we learnt that spell in first year." Maybe he was having a senile moment, but I decided it probably wasn't polite to point this out.

Flitwick smiled. "I am aware of that Miss Granger, but I was hoping we could incorporate it into the full paralysis charm we are performing today."

"Can't we just use the body bind hex?" I muttered.

A frown crossed Flitwick's face. "If you do not know, or have forgotten the incantation Miss Granger, merely say so."

"I know it, it's just –"

"Then perhaps you are unwilling to participate for some other reason?"

"No" I said shortly, aware that Hermione's fierce gaze was boring holes into the back of my head. She'd probably never even disagreed with a teacher in her entire life. "All I meant was that there are other ways of causing full paralysis that don't involve tickling."

Flitwick seemed disproportionately affronted. I wasn't sure why, it's not like I'd insulted him or anything, plus I'd said much worse to him in my own body (me and Blaise generally spent Charms lessons trying to come up with height related jokes – our favourites involved dwarf/small woodland creature hybrid references). From the corner of my eye I could see Hermione gripping the edge of the desk in helpless frustration.

"Look" I said, thinking that it was more than my life was worth not to answer the question. "The spell you need is_ ridero_."

"Correct" said Flitwick, "although I am unsure as to why it took you this long to grace me with an answer."

"Sorry Professor."

As expected, ten seconds after Flitwick had turned to write on the board, a note landed on my desk.

_What on earth do you think you're playing at Draco? ANSWER a teacher if they ask you a question. Do NOT come up with smart-alec replies because you think that you're so much cleverer than everybody else in the room. _

_Come on Mione, is that really fair? All I said was we'd already done that spell. _

_It wasn't just what you said, it was your tone. You weren't respectful. I thought we'd gotten over all of this. _

_It's kind of hard to be respectful when your teacher's a midget._

…_.._

_Mione?_

…_.._

_Hermione, stop taking notes and answer me. It's not like you don't already know all this. _

…_.._

_Please Mione? _

…_.._

_Fine then. I'm going to stand up and start striping in 10, 9, 8... _

_DRACO! Don't you DARE strip in front of the entirety of BOTH OUR HOUSES. _

_I wouldn't actually have done it you know. _

_I'm aware of that. I just like shouting at you, even in note format. _

_That's kind of hot you know. _

_You can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes. I'm going to stop replying now because Flitwick is sending me suspicious looks. We'll finish this discussion later. _

_Mione? _

_Yes Draco? _

_I love you_

_Love you too _

Grinning, I scrunched up Hermione's reply and stuffed it into my bag. The last thing we needed was me leaving it lying around somewhere and having Potter or Weasel find it. I also wasn't entirely sure what had made me say "I love you" either, but seeing her "love you too" was causing a strange sensation in my stomach that I'd never experienced before. It was like taking a sip of butterbeer on a winter's day and having the warm feeling slowly spread through your veins. Merlin, since when had I started to feel like this? There was something about Hermione that made me happier than I'd ever been in my life. I could be myself around her, could let my guard down. But since when had it gone from being "in a relationship" to "love". I'd never even considered the word love before. What did it mean? The love between my father and mother had been strained at best and for the most part non existence. Theirs had been a marriage of convenience, arranged by their parents to uphold two of the oldest wizarding family names and ensure that the pureblood tradition continued. I'd never seen much evidence of true love before. Most of my time had Hogwarts had consisted of going through girl after girl, competing with Blaise to see who could get the most and tossing them aside once I'd had my fill. I wasn't proud of this the way I had been, not since Hermione had come along. And suddenly, out of nowhere, I loved her. And seriously, I just couldn't help it. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me. And I wasn't about to let her go.

* * *

**Hermione POV**

Walking down to breakfast the next morning, Draco surprised me with an interesting fact.

"Only four weeks left until the Christmas holidays. That means only three weeks until the Yule Ball and four weeks until we switch back."

I hastily looked round to make sure there was nobody else in the corridor that could be listening in – causing Draco to roll his eyes – and when I was sure we were alone, I replied.

"Four weeks? Wow, the time's gone pretty quickly, hasn't it?"

It didn't feel like I'd been in Draco's body for three weeks already, but at the same time it felt like a lifetime. So much had happened since the morning that I'd woken up and looked in the mirror to find a blond face staring back at me. I'd tried to destroy Draco's life, made a truce with him, bonded with Blaise, organised the Yule Ball, helped Draco through his first period, found out so much about his family and his true self, had sex with him… and now here we were – a couple. If somebody had told me at the beginning of the year that by Christmas I would be the girlfriend of a Slytherin, I would have told them to lay off the firewhiskey. But everything that had happened between Draco and I felt so right. The note that he'd passed me yesterday in Charms, the note where he'd said "I love you" was still first and foremost on my mind. He loved me. And I wasn't at all surprised to find that I loved him too. I was definitely going to buy Dumbledore a brilliant Christmas present to thank him for the switch.

"Time's gone quickly since we got together" said Draco. "Before then, it dragged."

"What do you mean?"

"Well to begin with I spent hours shut up in my room thinking of ways to destroy you. Then after we started to get on better there were the awful hours I had to spend with Potter and Weasley, giving them love advice and trying to stop Ron from mounting me…" He paused and shot me a grin. "Then I spent agonizing hours trying to work out why I seemed to be attracted to you."

I laughed. "And now?"

Draco reached over and patted my backside. "Now I can't wait for us to change back, but for totally different reasons."

"What are we going to do after we turn back into ourselves?" I wondered out loud. "I mean, are we still going to keep everything – "

I broke off as we walked into the Entrance Hall to find Harry and Ron waiting by the doors of the Great Hall.

"Hey Mione" Harry called, walking towards Draco. Ron shot me a dirty look.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" he growled. I hated seeing Ron look at me like that, but it was getting easier to ignore it. I'd even been practising Draco's "cool stare" expression in the mirror.

"Weasley" I said, pulling off my best sneer. "I was walking to breakfast funnily enough. Not that it's any of your business."

"Why are you with Hermione?" Ron demanded.

"We were just going over plans for the Yule Ball" said Draco, moving away from me and towards Harry. "But we've finished now. Let's go to breakfast."

Without turning back to look at me Harry, Ron and Draco walked into the Great Hall. It was funny seeing the backs of their heads – one jet black, one red, one bushy brown – as this must be how people usually saw us, but before I could have too much of an out-of-body experience Blaise had come up behind me and wrapped an arm round my shoulders.

"Sup?"

"Hey Blaise" I said.

"Cheers for the other night mate. Daphne was incredible."

I laughed. It was weird how in three weeks this kind of comment had gone from seeming entirely crass and inappropriate to amusing. As we took our seats at the Slytherin table, I saw him wink at Daphne.

"I'm happy for you" I said, not entirely sure how you were supposed to respond to that kind of statement.

"I'm happy for me too" Blaise grinned, reaching for the toast. "Did you and Pansy get together?"

"No. I think she passed out."

"Never stopped you before."

I looked up from the croissant I was spreading jam on, horrified.

"What?"

Blaise looked thoughtful for a minute. "Hang on, I think it was me who slept with her that time she was practically unconscious. I remember her complaining about how I'd taken advantage of her in the morning. She made me carry her bag round for a week."

"You are such a dick" I said, shaking my head. Blaise's grin got even wider.

"Yeah, but a sexy dick. You gotta love me."

"Debatable" I muttered.

While Blaise turned to Crabbe and started up a conversation about Quidditch, I allowed my attention to drift over to the Gryffindor table. I loved to watch the expressions on Draco's face as he tried to talk to Harry and Ron. He would put on this strange smile while they were looking at him and the second they looked away his brow would knit together and his shoulders would slump. I used to worry that he would give the game away, letting his emotions show that easily, but now it just made me smile.

The sight that met my eyes made my heart freeze. Draco was looking down at a letter that he'd obviously just opened and his knuckles had gone white with the strain of gripping the edge of the table. I could see a muscle working in his jaw and watched in shock as he threw the piece of toast he was holding down on the table, stood up and stalked out of the Hall. Harry and Ron were calling after him, exchanging worried glances, but I was already out of my seat and hurrying towards the Entrance Hall before I could notice anything else. Blaise yelled something after me, but the blood was pumping too loudly in my ears for me to hear exactly what he said. What on earth could have made Draco look so horrified? And if he was getting my post, then did this mean that the horrifying news was actually meant for me? Had something happened to my parents? _Oh God…_

I broke into a run as I made my way up the stairs to the first floor. Which direction had he gone? I was starting to panic, rushing along without any real sense of purpose. Would he have gone back to the Heads Dormitory? Surely he would want to tell me whatever had been in the letter? Or maybe it was such bad news that he was deliberately avoiding me. Where the hell was he?

"Draco!" I called out, aware that if anybody saw me it would look like I was screaming out my own name, but too worked up to care. "Draco! Where are you?"

My words echoed down the empty corridor. His face had been so white, his eyes widened in shock. Or had it been fear? I had been too far away to understand the exact nature of his emotions. All that I knew was that I'd never seen him so upset.

"Draco!"

Still no reply. Why hadn't he waited for me outside the Great Hall? Surely he would have known that I would have followed him out. Maybe I had got this wrong. Maybe he hadn't been worried about the letter, but simply feeling ill. There had been kippers for breakfast and I knew that Ginny found the smell nauseating… But that didn't explain why he had taken the letter with him. He obviously hadn't wanted Harry and Ron to read it. This thought sent me into panic again and I quickened my pace as I rounded the corner. Adrenaline coursed through my body as visions of my parents injured in a car crash, lying paralysed in a white hospital room popped into my mind. Dad had always been a careless driver; mum always told him to pay more attention, to take bends slower. What if it had been a rainy night and they had slipped on the tarmac? What if there was nothing the doctors could do?

"Draco! Where are you?" I screamed.

"Hermione?"

His voice broke on my name. I couldn't tell which direction it had come from and lurched to a halt, looking around wildly.

"Where are you?" I called again.

"Bathroom."

The door on the right in front of me led into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and I ran forward, pushing it open. The first thing I saw was the sink that I knew hid the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and slumped against it on the floor, his head in his hands, was Draco. The crumpled letter lay next to him, half soaked by a pool of water that was causing the ink to run in blue black rivulets across the white paper. All at once I was struck with a sudden fear. Something was definitely wrong, terribly wrong. I couldn't quite find my voice to ask him the hundreds of questions that I wanted to know the answers to.

"Dr – Draco? What's…?"

He raised his head slowly and locked gazes with me. Though my eyes are usually a chocolate brown colour, I could have sworn as he looked at me that they were black, a flat black colour void of all emotion. I had never seen such an empty expression on my own face before and this more than anything prompted me into action. I hurried across the wet floor and crouched down next to him, my hand reaching out to find his own. Draco flinched away from my touch.

"Don't." His voice was low and hoarse. "Don't Hermione."

I slowly withdrew my hand, trying not to let the hurt I was feeling show on my face.

"Is it my parents?" I asked quietly. "If it's my parents please tell me. I need to know. I need to know what's happened – "

"What about your parents?" Draco cut across me.

"I thought that the letter…?"

He let out a hollow laugh. "You thought wrong."

Though I was supposed to be feeling relief that my mum and dad were ok – and I was, the horrible visions of blood and mangled metal had disappeared – my heart sank further.

"Then what?" I asked him.

There was such a long pause that I wasn't sure if he was going to reply. Just as I was about to repeat the question, he spoke.

"The letter was from my father."

Suddenly everything made sense. His violent reaction, the fact he couldn't leave the letter with Ron and Harry. Everything Blaise had told me about Draco's usual reaction to receiving a letter from his father came back to me. His anger, which he tried to cover up but ended up giving himself away by being awful to everyone around him. I felt so stupid. I'd been so lost in thoughts concerning myself that it hadn't even occurred to me that the letter might be for Draco himself.

"Oh Draco, I'm sorry" I said softly. "What did he say? Was he horrible?"

"He said…" Draco sounded far away, as if he was speaking from a great distance. "It doesn't matter what he said."

* * *

**Draco POV**

She looked so worried, so desperate to help me. It was weakness like this that my father would use to hurt her. Hurt her until she cracked.

When I had realised the letter was from my father my blood had turned cold. After I'd read the first line saying how Dumbledore had asked his permission for a body switch to occur I'd felt like I was being stabbed with ice. By the time I'd got to the last paragraph – how he'd been using Xavier Knott, a Slytherin 6th year to spy on me and Hermione, how he knew what was going on between us, how he was going to do everything in his power to hurt her, and by association me, until we broke up, how he still had connections even thought he was in Azkaban and would make my life a living hell unless I upheld the family name – I'd stopped feeling altogether. I'd never underestimated my father in my entire life. Until now. Once he'd been put in Azkaban I figured it was over. But of course he still knew everything that was happening with me; of course he was still in control. And now he was going to hurt Hermione until I did exactly what he said. What the fuck was I going to do? My heart sank as I realised there was only one thing I could do. Only one way to make sure that nothing happened to her.

"Why are you sorry?" I ground out.

"I know that you hate yourself for still loving him" she said, sounding so understanding it made me want to punch something. "But you don't need to beat yourself up. It's going to be ok."

"I know."

Her eyes became hopeful. "You do?"

_Shit. _It was now or never. Now, before it was too late.

"Of course. Once I'm rid of you."

I couldn't believe I'd actually forced the words out. She frowned, confused by what I was saying.

"What do you mean?"

I ran a hand through my hair, steeling myself. "Everything in my life will be fucking perfect once I'm not stuck with you anymore."

Her face paled at the harshness of my tone and she stood up, taking a couple of paces back, as if she could understand what I was saying if she got a better look at me.

"Why did you just say that? I don't understand Draco. What did you father say?"

"Nothing he hasn't said before."

Was this really the right way to go about it? Maybe I could tell her that my father knew about us. That he would do everything in his power to break us up and that we had to stay away from each other for her own safety. But she was the kind of person that wouldn't be scared, who wouldn't let personal danger keep her from something that she believed in. This was the only way.

"This is so wrong Hermione!" I shouted suddenly. "Everything about us is so wrong!"

She balled her hands into fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. Her eyes were wide, filled with confusion and pain. "Draco, I – "

"No! Look at me. Look at yourself! We're trapped in each other's bodies." I gestured at the long mirror that ran above the line of sinks.

"We won't be for much longer" Hermione insisted. "The switch is only until the end of term. When we're back to normal we can just –"

"What?" My voice cracked. "We can just _what_?"

She faltered, her eyes becoming uncertain. "Be together" she said softly. "I thought… I thought that was what you wanted."

"Maybe I did". I closed my eyes, forcing the words out. "But I don't anymore."

She recoiled away from me, like I'd physically slapped her. Her face had gone very white and I could tell she was trying not to cry. It was only the shock that was stopping her.

"You don't mean that" she choked out.

"Don't I?" I asked coolly.

I didn't want to do this to her. Didn't want to hurt her. But the alternative would be much worse. I twisted my features into a sneering expression.

"You really thought that we would last? How naïve of you."

She looked up at me, horrified and I met her gaze unflinchingly. _See it through Draco. Don't back down now. _

"I don't know what your father said to you Draco, but we can get over it. I know you don't mean what –"

I cut across her. "The only reason we got together was because I hadn't had sex for weeks trapped in your body, and when Dumbledore reversed the switch you were there and willing. After that, it was just a game. I wanted to see how far I could let this go. How long I could string you out for. You mean nothing to me."

Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "Don't do this Draco. Whatever the problem is, we can work through it."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut and suddenly I wasn't sure. I was doing the right thing, wasn't I? She was broken, on the edge of a very deep abyss and with one push I could send her toppling into the darkness. I could see it in her eyes. But I had to do it. Even though it would destroy me to cause her so much pain.

I quirked my lips up into a smirk. "You weren't a bad lay either. For a mudblood."

Surely that would be it. She couldn't take anymore after that.

"Why are you doing this?" A single tear slid down her cheek and it took all my willpower not to reach up and pull her down into my arms. "You said you loved me."

_Finish what you started Draco._

"I said a lot of things, sweetheart. And the only one that was true is that you mean nothing to me."

Her expression flitted from shock, to white hot anger and then suddenly there was no emotion at all. She was shutting herself off from me, withdrawing. If I didn't say anything now I would lose her forever…

_Hermione. _

Without another word she turned her back on me, and walked away.

* * *

**Ok, so please don't hate me! ****I'd love to know what you think, leave me a review and let me know :) **

**Also, if anyone likes the Draco/Ginny pairing then check out my new fic Never Say Never (shameless plug here, but hey) :D **

**~ BB**


	12. Degrees of separation

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviews and for all the alerts and favourites i've been getting. I'm walking around with a ridiculously happy grin at the moment :D Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

**Hermione POV**

I sat down under a tree on the edges of the Forbidden Forest and cried. I was so tired. Tired of pretending to be somebody I wasn't; tired of having feelings for someone who obviously still hated me; tired of having nobody in the world to talk to about my problems. Draco had used me. He hadn't loved me or even cared at all. This had just been some stupid game to him, a way of passing the time while he was stuck in my body and probably something he would spend the rest of the year torturing me about. I tried to tell myself that I didn't care, that I shouldn't have expected anything better from him. But I couldn't stop thinking about things he'd said to me, little looks and touches that had felt so real. The most painful thing was that I thought he had changed.

"Malfoy?" An incredulous voice rang out across the grass. It was nearly nightfall and the part of me that wasn't numb with shock was surprised that anybody else was out. I looked up to find Ginny was walking towards me, an uncertain expression on her face.

"Gin!" I called out between sobs. "Ginny!"

"What the hell's wrong with you?" she asked, stopping a few feet away and looking down at me in distaste. After everything – after being hurt more than I thought I could bare – having Ginny look at me like I was some blast ended skrewt that was crawling through the mud towards her, tipped me over the edge.

"It's me Gin. It's Hermione" I told her desperately. I knew I was violating Dumbledore's rules, but I just didn't have the energy to care anymore. I needed to talk to somebody, needed somebody I knew I could trust. I felt like I was fighting against a strong icy current that was threatening to pull me out into a vast ocean and suck me down beneath the waves and the only thing that could possibly bring me back was Ginny. I'd been so caught up in Draco the past few weeks that I hadn't realised how alone I was without him. I knew that in a second Dumbledore's tongue tie curse would kick in and Ginny would walk away, thinking Malfoy was crazy as well as evil, but I had to say something before she left.

"What's this got to do with Hermione?" Ginny asked, taking a step closer and drawing her wand. "So help me if you've done anything to her I will curse you into the middle of next century."

"No!" I shouted, banging my fists on the ground in a fit of pure petulance, too upset to notice how childishly I was behaving. "I _am_ Hermione. We switched bodies."

Ginny looked at me long and hard before pocketing her wand again. "This is pathetic. Whatever game you're trying to play this time Malfoy, it isn't going to work on me. And I'm not going to give you the satisfaction."

She made to walk away and I scrambled forward after her. "Last summer" I said. "Last summer when we were at the Burrow I walked in on you and Harry kissing in your room. You begged me not to tell Ron because you hadn't broken it to him yet that you were back together again."

Ginny paled. "How do you know about that?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Because I'm telling you the truth Gin. I'm Hermione."

"Mione could have told you about that" said Ginny shrewdly. "What you're suggesting is impossible. I can't believe I'm still here listening to this."

"Fine!" I shouted, my voice rising in pitch and desperation. "What about the time we sneaked out in the middle of the night that same holiday? You wanted to show me the fairies in the woods. Your hands were so cold they turned blue and I conjured us a flame and we spent all night sitting in the kitchen and chatting. You told me you wanted to be a healer but that you were worried you wouldn't get good enough OWLs."

Ginny opened her mouth, but I cut across her before she could speak.

"Plus I'm the only person who knows about your crush on Professor Lupin."

I could tell that Ginny was wavering now. I knew too much for it to simply be information Draco could have gleaned from listening to my conversations. I was pretty sure she hadn't told anybody else about her thing for Lupin and she knew that I would never spread that particular piece of gossip around (for one thing, Harry would be outraged and for another, Tonks would tease her mercilessly).

Ginny was staring at me with a searching gaze, the way she looked when she was checking out opponents during Quidditch matches and trying to think of moves to outplay them. Her eyes narrowed.

"What would you say if I told you I lost my copy of _Hogwarts: A History_?"

I gasped. "Ginny! I spent hours spellotaping that back together for you! How could you be so careless?"

"Oh My God Hermione! It really is you!"

"Of course it's me!"

Ginny ran forwards, closing the small distance between us and pulled me into a hug. Everything about her was so familiar – her smell, her soft red hair tickling my cheek, her slim, wiry body – that I couldn't stop the fresh wave of tears from spilling over. I had missed her so much, had especially hated not having another girl to talk to about my problems and cheer me up when I was feeling down. Ginny had been the one person I could always rely upon to understand the arguments I had with Ron and give me copious amounts of Honeydukes chocolate when everything else failed to calm me down. And unlike Harry and Ron, she had guessed that something was going on with Draco and me and although she'd had no idea about the switch until now, at least she had noticed the apparent change in my behaviour. It was odd to hold her in Draco's body, with her feeling so tiny against my chest, her head barely reaching my chin.

But what on earth was I supposed to tell her? Whenever I had imagined the moment in three weeks time when I got my own body back and was able to tell the others about what had happened (Dumbledore had made it clear that as long as our friends didn't make the switch common knowledge then we were allowed to discuss it with them) I'd pictured a happy reunion, where I was made a great fuss of while they listened to horror stories about the things I'd had to face in the Slytherin common room. Then when Draco and I were together – I tried to ignore the intense stabbing pain the thought of him produced – I'd dreaded the conversation in which I would have told Ron and Harry that we were in a relationship. But at least then I would have had him. Now I had nothing. And the only way to stop the sadness that was threatening to overwhelm me was to close myself off from any thoughts of the past few weeks.

So where did that leave me? Telling Ginny that I was crying because I had fallen in love with the guy I had previously thought was the most arrogant, immoral and heartless person I'd ever encountered, because I thought I had discovered the real man behind the mockery and insults – the man who loved me and wanted to be with me – only to find he'd been playing me all along. I'd been used like a pawn in some sick, sadistic game. And really, what else should I have thought? I was supposed to be intelligent for Merlin's sake. And I'd seen enough betrayal and broken alliances during the War to know how easy it was to be tricked by the people you thought you could trust the most. A few promises, a heartfelt apology, a declaration of love and I had turned my back on my better judgement and everything I'd ever known about Draco. Of course it had all been a lie. I was stupid. _So stupid_ to have thought he was telling the truth. The vulnerability and the emotions which he'd showed me were just another layer of deceit protecting him from the outside world; another weapon in his arsenal which he used to screw other people over.

But it wasn't that which hurt the most. The fact that I'd been made to look foolish, the fact that I'd given myself to him and let him see my true feelings was all insignificant compared to the crushing sense of despair I felt at having lost him. I couldn't stop a shuddering sob from escaping.

"My God, Hermione" Ginny murmured. "Who did this to you?"

She had sat down beside me, her back up against the trunk of the tree and taken my hand in hers. One of the many wonderful things about Ginny was that she wasn't easily freaked out and the fact that she was in effect holding hands with Draco didn't seem to faze her. Something which had taken me weeks to come to terms with, she'd taken easily in her stride. Maybe I should suggest to Dumbledore that he make her Head Girl next year. Then again, I wouldn't want to put my worst enemy through what I'd just experienced.

"It was Dumbledore" I told her wearily.

"_Dumbledore_ did this?"

I proceeded to tell her about the switch, the old tradition that head girls and boys had been subjected to for many years and how Dumbledore wanted us to gain a more rounded perspective on the world.

"Well that's a fucking stupid idea" said Ginny indignantly, "look what it's done to you! What the hell happened?"

I hung my head, trying to wade through a hundred flashes of moments that had just popped into my head. The horrified look on Draco's face when he'd first realised that the switch had occurred; how angry I had been the time he'd danced with Seamus; the way he looked down when he spoke about his father, like he couldn't bear to show anybody how he really felt; his grin when he saw me coming…

"I can't tell you Gin. I just can't."

I had absolutely no idea how to begin.

Ginny gently squeezed my hand. "You're a mess Hermione. I've never seen you this upset. Did Malfoy hurt you? So help me God if he laid one finger on you I'll –"

"He didn't touch me, if that's what you mean."

_Not in that way at least._ I pushed back memories of Draco's hands in my hair, his lips on my neck, the way he whispered my name against my skin. His hot breath tickling me, sending shivers all the way through me. Sensations I'd never experienced before, like the heat that had begun like a fire deep under my skin and had spread across my whole body, burning me from the inside. The aching I had felt for him, the need for him to touch me. And his need in return. It had all felt so real, like I was the only thing in the world that had mattered to him. When he looked down at me I could have been the first sight of water to a man lost in the desert; he had made me feel special. I couldn't believe that the emotions he's displayed while we were intimate together could have been faked. But I'd obviously just underestimated his ability to lie.

"Then what?" Ginny asked softly. "You can tell me."

I looked down at her, trying to find the right place to start.

"I don't know how it happened" I said softly. "But I fell in love with Draco Malfoy."

I fell in love with him and he betrayed me. No, betrayal implied that he at least felt something for me in return, that he thought there was something between us that he could break. Draco never thought of me as anything apart from a means to while away the time.

He hadn't betrayed me. He'd done exactly what I should have known he'd do. In allowing myself to fall for him, I'd betrayed myself.

* * *

**Draco POV**

I lay face down on the bed, pillow over my head, trying to block out the world. What the hell had I been thinking pushing Hermione away like that? Fucking brilliant idea Draco. Hurt and humiliate the only girl you've ever cared about. I couldn't even go and take down Xavier Knott like I wanted to, because I was still in her body and she would get the blame for whatever I did. And considering how much pain I wanted to put him in, he would be lucky to escape the crutiatius curse.

Then again, what did it matter anymore? She hated me; nothing I did now would make a difference. I'd spent years learning the perfect way to hurt someone, how to put up a façade that hid your real emotions, how to destroy a friend with a single word. I really was my father's son. Groaning, I rolled over and hurled my pillow across the room. Everything was a complete fucking mess. Did I really expect my father to leave her alone just because I broke it off? Knowing him – and sadly, I think I was one of the few people in the world that knew what he was really capable of – he would still try to find a way to destroy her to punish me for consorting with a mudblood. For sullying the family name. And if he could get someone to spy on me whilst stuck in Azkaban, I was sure he could find people to do his dirty work.

I was trying to ignore the part of me that was furious with her for giving up on us so easily. I wanted to shake her to her senses, yell at her for thinking I could ever mean the things I had said. I didn't understand how she had walked away without a fight, let alone believe the lies I'd spun her. Evidently I was more convincing than I gave myself credit for. Or maybe – and this was another thought I was furiously trying to ignore – none of what had happened between us had meant as much to her as it had to me. I'd never felt as strongly about anyone as I had about her – fuck, I wasn't sure if I even _had_ cared about anyone else before. She was the first girl I had wanted to spend time with, the first girl that I had woken up with and not wanted to let go. And if it had been the other way around, with her telling me our whole relationship had just been some game to her, then I wouldn't have believed it. Wouldn't have let her give up on me without a hell of a lot of better reasons than I'd given.

I probably would have spent all night agonizing over what to do and thinking up a thousand ways to kill my father if I hadn't heard the door to the head's dormitory crash open.

"You complete and utter dickhead Draco Malfoy!"

Surprised by the unexpected intruder, I rolled out of bed and landed on my feet. I hastily looked around for my wand.

"Where are you? You'd better show your face right now or I start blasting your stuff."

The girl seemed to be standing on the other side of the door and screaming through. Thinking about it, I recognised her voice…

"Ginny?" I called. "Is that you?"

"Give the man an award! Now get your butt out here."

Why was she here? And more to the point, why had she just called me a man? I'd just spoken with Hermione's voice. Did this mean she knew about the switch? Deciding I'd have to face her at some point, I ducked out of the bedroom. She was sitting opposite me on the sofa, her arms folded across her chest and a murderous expression on her face. It took a lot of willpower not to blanch.

"Sit." She ordered.

"Ginny" I began. "I don't know what you think –"

"No _you _look" she retorted angrily. "Have you seen what you've done to Hermione? She's a broken woman."

"I _am_ Hermione."

"You can stop with the pretence" she scoffed. "Mione told me about you switching bodies. I know everything."

Looked like the game was up. I seemed weird, after weeks of acting, to suddenly give up like this. I didn't know how to go back to being me around people I hadn't ever spent time with in my own body. The time I'd spent with Ginny as Hermione had almost made me like her, and now I had to get to grips with the fact that nothing that she'd said to me had actually been to me at all. Not really. And why did that make me feel bad?

"Dumbledore's tongue tying curse didn't take effect?" I asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Obviously not, or I wouldn't be here."

I scowled and walked forwards. Maybe it wouldn't be hard getting back to usual after all. "What do you want Weasley?"

Her eyes narrowed at this. "I want to know why you broke my best friend's heart.

It took all of my energy, but I managed to pull off a smirk.

"Because, like the trusting mudblood she is, she was stupid enough to fall in love with me."

"But why go to all that effort?" She demanded. "Why spend weeks becoming her friend?"

I shrugged. "Why do anything?"

"Cut the philosophical crap Malfoy."

"Why should I give you an answer?" I countered. It was physically hurting me to look at Ginny. Because looking at her made me think of Hermione, and then all I could do was picture where she would be right now. Had Ginny left her some place crying? Was she angry? As cut up as I was? All I wanted to do was put my arms around her. Turn back the clock so none of this had ever happened. But there was my father to think about. And what would happen if I didn't maintain this front.

"Why the hell should I even waste my time talking to you?" I said, more aggressive than I had intended.

For some inexplicable reason, this made Ginny smile.

"Because I don't believe you."

"What?"

"I don't believe a word you're saying Malfoy."

I gaped at her. It was the last thing I had expected her to say and I had no idea how to respond. What didn't she believe me about? My motivation for hurting Hermione? Or that I had ever wanted to hurt her at all?

"Hermione has told me pretty much everything that has gone on between you too" Ginny said, and now her voice was softer, almost as if she was trying to calm me down. "And forgive me for doubting your high class skills of manipulation, but even you aren't capable of stringing someone as intelligent as her along."

"I don't know what you're talking about" I said quickly. Inside, I grimaced. Jesus. I was going to need better comebacks than that if I wanted to convince her.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."

I tried my best to sneer. "Enlighten me."

Ginny stood up and walked towards me. She only stopped when we were inches apart. I could make out every freckly on her nose, every dash of green in her brown eyes.

"Hermione's in pain" she said quietly, leaning in so she could whisper in my ear. "She's trying to turn her pain into anger, but really she's broken."

It fucking killed me to hear it. I knew what I was doing when I'd pushed her away, knew it was going to hurt her. But hearing it from Ginny made it real. The small part of me that was singing for joy that she did, at least, care enough about me to be suffering was silenced by the overwhelming sense of guilt that threatened to crumble my resolve. I closed my eyes, wanting a few seconds to pull myself together.

"She's crying right now" Ginny continued, unaware of the bitter self-hatred she was engendering in me. "Curled up in my bed. Alone."

My hands balled into fists at my side, nails digging into my palms hard enough to draw blood.

"And you expect me to care about this because?" I ground out. What the hell was Weasley trying to do?

"Because you love her."

My eyes flew open. Ginny was standing a foot away from me now, smiling.

"I don't."

"Oh really?" Her eyes moved down to the thin half crescent of blood on my palm.

"Really."

"And that's why you're just as devastated as she is, is it? That's why you're looking like you want to throw yourself under the Knight bus."

"I don't – love her. I don't know…."

My resolve was leaving me as quickly as it had come. So what if I told Ginny the truth? Would my father really find out? I could do something about Xavier. I could find a way for me and Hermione to be together. He was in Azkaban for Christ's sake. It wasn't like he could actually get to me. His letter must have been an empty threat, could only have been words.

"Ginny, I –"

I was distracted by a sharp tapping sound at the window. Ginny and I both turned to see a snowy white owl hovering outside, its wings startlingly bright against the dark sky.

A thrill of dread coursed through me. I knew that owl. I moved across the room as if in a nightmare, my legs too heavy, as if I was wading through blood. When I opened the window, the owl gave me a hard peck on the back of my hand before stretching its leg out for me to untie the scroll of parchment. Ginny watched as I unrolled the paper, watched me as I read the words I'd been half expecting for a year now. Her face was a blur over the top of the paper as I stared sightlessly at the thin, slanting script.

"Draco. What is it?" She asked.

I didn't reply. I didn't know if I could.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Oh yes, I went there. And i know it's all getting a bit depressing, but i promise the fun will return soon! After Draco's issues have been sorted out. **

**I'll try and update as soon as possible but i'm going on holiday on saturday so not sure if i will get a chance to do so before then. Still, i can think of lots of Dramione plot twists while lazing on the beach... :)**


	13. Sticks and stones

**A/N: Right, so I managed to write another chapter before going off my holiday! I haven't had a chance to reply to reviews yet (sorry!) but I will do when i get back. As always, thanks for all the feedback i've been getting! Enjoy :) **

* * *

**Draco POV**

Things were happening too quickly. The walk from the heads dormitory to Dumbledore's study went by in a blur, the castle portraits hurrying along beside me offering cautions and reprimands about the lateness of the hour and my intentions. I barely heard what they were saying. My mind was unable to move away from thoughts of my father, where he was, what he was doing. I still clutched his letter in my hand – proof to show to Dumbledore – although I was sure he would have heard news of the breakout already. I couldn't quite make sense of the mix of emotions that were churning in my stomach; dread, anger, fear. And beneath all that, a flicker of absurd happiness that I was getting my father back. It was insane. Ridiculous that I was in anyway anticipating our reunion. Despite my certainty that he would be caught by the dementors and given the kiss, or failing that killed by Aurors, there was a part of me that was hoping for a clean escape.

But if by some miracle – I grimaced. Did I really want to call it a miracle? – He did get away, what was I expecting? Surely he would want me to join him, help him to run away and evade capture. Even if I didn't leave Hogwarts right this minute to find him, I was sure he wound find me. If he didn't, the very least I could expect was to be hauled in to the Ministry for questioning, maybe locked up myself. Because after everything that had happened in the War I definitely wasn't trusted by the people at the top. My name might have been cleared, I might have been exonerated by my classmates and forgiven by my friends, but there would always be that element of doubt surrounding me and where my allegiances truly lied.

Of course, I had never wanted to join Voldemort. I had been sickened by the things he had offered me, the crimes my father had wanted me to commit. But what other choice did I have? When I had failed to kill Dumbledore – I wasn't sure when it came down to it if it had been because of my moral opposition, or my blood chilling terror in the moment – my family had been side lined. Where before we had been Voldemort's favourites, now we were lackeys, Death Eaters by name rather than by deed. We were rarely let out of the Manor. It was during those long weeks of solitude locked up in my room that I had begun to realise there might be another way. Even though I would be going against everything my father had ever taught me, against everything I had worked my whole life to uphold, I knew I couldn't sit by and let Voldemort win. He was going to create a new world order where muggles and mudbloods would be killed and although I had an ingrained aversion to those below me in social standing, I hadn't allowed my upbringing to warp me so much as to see the murder of innocents as acceptable. That was when Blaise and I had escaped. The Order had accepted our excuses for changing sides, probably because of our age, and had kept us in a safe house. This is where we had remained for the rest of the War, still not allowed out, but at least no longer forced into helping plan the deaths of those we had grown up with at Hogwarts. Because of the need to protect us, very few people outside of the top ranks of the Order knew that we had left the Death Eaters and for our own safety we weren't taken to the final battle where Voldemort had fallen. Since then, we had returned to school and almost resumed our everyday lives and although it had become common knowledge that we hadn't fought for the dark side, we were still lumped in with the majority of Slytherins who had. We definitely weren't trusted.

I sighed. I was standing outside Dumbledore's door, had been standing there for at least a minute, unable to enter. I was definitely going to tell him what my father had said, that he had been amongst the ex Death Eaters who had instigated the break out and escaped, but I was finding it hard to relive the guilt and shame I had felt a year previously when I had betrayed my father for the first time.

"Draco? Were you planning on standing out there all night?"

I jumped, startled. Dumbledore had spoken through the door (I wasn't going to wonder how he'd known I was standing there. There were some things that were best not knowing). I hadn't even been sure that he was inside, but now I had no choice but to enter.

"Professor" I said, as I pushed the door open. "I have to tell you something."

"I was wondering if I would see you here tonight, Draco. I have to say that I am delighted that you have come."

Dumbledore was sitting in his tall backed armchair, observing me over his half-moon spectacles. Despite the calmness of his tone, I hadn't seen him look so weary in a long time.

"I'm guessing that you've heard" I said, walking across the office and taking a seat opposite him.

"Indeed I have. I suspected that your father would try and contact you. I presume that is why you are here?"

"Yeah."

I handed over the letter, feeling an intense sinking feeling as I did so. Not many people could say that they'd sold their father's out twice in their life time. Then again, not many people had father's as evil as mine.

"He's heading north" Dumbledore concluded after skimming through the letter. This is what I had deduced from my father's cryptic message too. I was glad that Dumbledore had worked it out himself rather than me having to tell him. It would feel awful to give away his secrets as bluntly as that.

"Draco, I'm impressed."

I looked up, surprised. "Why?"

"It must have been very hard for you to come to me. I know that you do not agree with the path that your father has chosen, but it takes a brave man to go against his family and follow through with his principles."

"Thanks, I guess." I wasn't sure if I deserved his praise. It wasn't because of my principles that I had come here. It was to save Hermione. And that's what I was going to do.

"Professor, I need to tell you something."

Dumbledore leant back in his chair. "I'm listening."

I shifted uncomfortably. I suspected that after the night where Dumbledore had switched us back, he knew that something was going on between Hermione and me. But confirming it – or at least, what had been – to his face was still going to be embarrassing. He was an old man for Christ's sake. He probably had medieval views about sex before marriage.

"I think you probably know that Hermione and I sort of, put aside our differences these last few weeks" I began.

Dumbledore smiled. "I was aware of that, yes."

"Well, this morning I received another letter from my father telling me that he also knew. He has spies at Hogwarts. And he said that if I didn't break up with her, he was going to destroy her."

"I had suspicions of that myself" said Dumbledore, nodding. "The reason that Miss Granger's tongue tie curse did not activate when she told Miss Weasley about the switch is simply because I did not create this tradition in order to torture young witches and wizards. While I still feel that the switch has its benefits I do not allow you to speak to your friends about it. However, when I saw how upset Miss Granger was, I knew that she needed the comfort of her fellow Gryffindor's. The only reason I could fathom for her pain" – I winced at this – "was because something had happened between you. And logically, I feared that the only reason you would break things off with her was because of your family."

I didn't waste time thinking about how insane it was that Dumbledore thought all this was "logical". It was anything but.

"How has my father managed to infiltrate Hogwarts?" I demanded, feeling the need for some answers. If my life was going to be fucked up then I wanted to understand why. "Why would he do it in the first place?"

Dumbledore lowered his eyes. "The how I am not so sure about, the why is entirely my fault."

"_Your_ fault?"

"I'm afraid that before the switch can occur I have to ask the permission of your parents. It would be remiss of me not to gain legal agreement and seeing as your mother is suffering from memory loss…" here he looked up at me, and I could tell that he was letting me know that if I wanted to talk about my mother, he would listen. I gave a small shake of my head, not wanting to think about her, not when so much else was going on. I tried not to think about her at all, really. "I thought it would be best to contact your father" Dumbledore finished.

So the reason my father was using Xavier as a spy was because he knew about the switch. He knew that spending time as a Gryffindor would change me, realised that being in such strenuous circumstances with Hermione would alter our relationship. I didn't know whether I was angrier at him for keeping tabs on me or for understanding me so well. He had no right to predict the way I would act, absolutely no fucking right. After the way he'd treated me throughout my childhood it didn't seem fair that he could also have a better insight into my emotions than I did myself. Since when had he ever bothered to get to know me? How the hell could he have known?

"It's not your fault" I told Dumbledore dully. "If I'd truly been my father's son then the switch wouldn't have bothered him. It's because I'm such a disappointment to him that he felt the need to watch me."

"That is very generous of you to say so, Draco."

We fell into silence. After a while, I realised that Dumbledore was waiting for me to speak. It had been me that had been loitering outside his study after all and not the other way around.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked. I didn't know what Dumbledore _could_ do, but he seemed the only person to ask. That was the reason I'd headed straight to him, leaving Ginny standing alone in the common room calling furiously after me.

Dumbledore stood up. "I am going to the Ministry."

"What?" I knew that he would be leaving, but I didn't think it would be quite so soon. Deep down, I realised that I'd been hoping for his protection. With Dumbledore around, I was certain my father wouldn't try to contact me in person or try anything too dangerous. Then again, what was my father hoping to achieve? With Voldemort dead there was no figure for the Death Eaters to rally around. Were they planning an insurrection? Or were they simply attempting to escape the confines of Azkaban. They couldn't realistically accomplish anything. Not with the Ministry stronger than it had been in years with Shaklebolt as Minister and Lee Jordan revolutionising the Auror office. So why escape at all? My father wasn't stupid. And he had never been the kind of person to risk his neck for the losing side. He wasn't noble and brave. He would only act if he thought there was something to gain; if he thought there was a good chance of success. So what did the Death Eaters know that I didn't?

"I think they have a plan" I said aloud.

Dumbledore turned his piercing gaze on me. "If you know anything at all, Draco, _anything_. You must tell me now."

I shook my head. "I don't know anything specifically. But I know my father. And he wouldn't risk being attacked by the dementors if he didn't have a good plan."

Dumbledore sighed. "I will be away for a few days. As head boy and girl I expect you and Miss Granger to help Professor McGonagall keep control of the school while I am gone. There is sure to be much unrest when news of the breakout reaches the rest of the students, so you will have your work cut out for you."

Dumbledore's words sent a sudden stab of fear through my body. Not for myself, but for Hermione.

"You have to reverse the switch!" I said urgently, abruptly realising how much danger she was in. If my father did come to take me away, he would be taking her and not me. I couldn't expose her to him. I knew that she was strong, stronger mentally than maybe any of the other Gryffindors. But nothing could prepare her for my father.

"Don't worry Mr Malfoy, I have already reversed the spell. You and Miss Granger will be returning to your bodies within the next hour."

I let out a deep breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "Thank you Professor."

At least she would be safe, then. Even though Dumbledore's absence would leave me vulnerable, I could at least be secure in the knowledge that Hermione was no longer part of any of this.

* * *

**Hermione POV**

I hadn't been in the Room of Requirement for months.

There was something comforting about it, and not just because I had asked it to take on the appearance of my bedroom at home. It was here that Harry, Ron and I had created Dumbledore's Army and taught the others defensive spells and curses that would protect them against dark forces. It was in here that I knew Harry and Cho had had their first kiss. It was here that the rest of our year had hidden out and plotted against the Death Eaters that had taken over Hogwarts while we were off hunting for Horcruxes. The Room of Requirement had been a source of help and comfort to those in need throughout my time at school. But it wasn't until today that I had truly felt a burning, desperate desire to be away from everyone around me. I had wanted to feel safe and secure. And this was the only place I knew that could guarantee that.

After telling Ginny everything that had happened between Draco and me, she had sat in silence for several minutes without saying anything at all. I had started to worry that maybe she was angry with me for consorting with a Slytherin, especially since her and Harry were a couple and he and Draco hated each other more than ever. But then she had surprised me by asking questions. She wanted to know everything; the first time that Draco had called me Hermione rather than Granger; everything he'd told me about his family; the private jokes we had between us and what he said to make me laugh; right down to the exact words he'd used when he was breaking up with me. I'd refused to give her a precise dissection of his facial expressions while he was telling me I'd meant nothing to him – I couldn't fathom why she would want to know this, and it was hurting me to think about it. That was when she'd decided she wanted to go and talk to him. I closed my eyes, trying to remember exactly what she'd said.

"_I'm going to set this straight Mione. Wait here." _

"_Where are you going Gin? Set what straight?" _

"_I'm going to find Malfoy." _

_I'd looked at her in horror. "There's nothing you can say to him. He's the same foul git he always was and being in my body did nothing to change that. If anything, it made him worse." _

"_I think you're wrong." _

_Ginny stood up and brushed the dirt off her skirt. She was looking up the grounds towards the castle and I couldn't help but search for the lighted tower window that belonged to Draco and I. The head's dormitory. Was he in there? Was he thinking about me? I shook my head. Of course he wasn't. He was probably off congratulating himself about how spectacularly his plan had worked. Or more likely still, in Gryffindor tower destroying my life again. Now that he'd come to the end of his "pretend to like me" idea, he probably wanted to turn my friends against me. _

"_I'll see you later Hermione." Ginny started to walk away from me. _

"_Please don't go!" I wasn't sure if I could be alone right now. Especially if all I would be doing would be waiting for Ginny to come back and agree that Draco had been playing me. _

_She turned back and smiled. "I promise everything will be ok, I'm going to sort it out. You don't need to worry." _

"_You have no idea what you're doing" I told her. "I have absolutely no idea what you're doing!" _

"_I'm finding out the truth" she said simply. _

I didn't know what she thought the truth was, but I knew that she would be wrong. Sighing, I curled myself into a ball. It was strange to be lying in my own bed again, the bed I slept in over the summer when I was away from Hogwarts. It smelt of my childhood – of lavender and soap and my mum. I could almost feel the sensation of warm sunshine that woke me up in the mornings shining in through the curtains. I could smell the bacon and eggs that my dad cooked for breakfast, hear the sounds of a lawnmower as Mr Lazowski got up early to work on his garden. I wanted nothing more in that moment to be back at home. Before I could stop myself, I was crying again.

Frankly, I was appalled that Draco had reduced me to this. We'd been together for, what, two weeks? And I was acting like I'd suffered a messy divorce after years of marriage. This was a stupid teenage infatuation that had gone wrong. Nothing more. How could he be affecting me this badly? I wasn't Lavender or Parvati; my whole life didn't revolve around guys and what they thought of me. I was strong and independent. I didn't need anybody, especially not a Slytherin whose favourite pastime seemed to be making me miserable. I might have thought that he was different, that he really did love me, but it was a delusion that I had to rid myself of. There was no point in lying here, moping, giving him the satisfaction of seeing how much he had hurt me. The best reaction would be to rise above it. I really should go back to the common room and be there when he returned, show him that I didn't care two knuts about the way he had treated me. The thought of seeing him face to face nearly brought on a panic attack, but I told myself that I could do this. I _would_ do this.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a deep breath.

"You can do this Hermione. You're the smartest witch of your age. It should be easy to convince him that you don't care."

Yeah, easy. Who was I kidding? It was going to be the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life.

This was when a strange tingling sensation filled my body, like little shocks of electricity running through my bloodstream. A warmth rushed through my veins right from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes, setting every sinew on fire, lighting up every nerve ending. It was something I'd only felt once before, and last time it had resulted in me switching back into my own body. My eyes flew open. Pushing the covers aside, I scrambled out of bed and rushed over to the floor length mirror on the other side of the room. When I saw my reflection – brown bushy hair, brown eyes, curved figure – I could have danced for joy. I was me again! For some reason Dumbledore had reversed the switch. I didn't know how long it would last this time, it had only been for a night before, but I was going to make the most of it. Almost singing with happiness, I skipped over to my wardrobe and pulled out the first dress I laid eyes on. It would be a relief to get out of trousers and shirts and wear something feminine again. I had missed small comforts like this and as I slipped the silky, red dress over my head I began to feel as light as air. It would be so much easier to face Draco in my own body. I would have control of my facial expressions for a start, and not feel constantly wrong footed. I had always felt so vulnerable in his body that I had let my true feelings show too easily. Now things would be back to normal.

At least, as normal as things _could_ get when you were pretending you didn't care that the person you loved had broken your heart.

* * *

I had been hoping for a few moments of peace to compose myself in the common room before he arrived, but Draco was sitting on the sofa when I walked in. It was incredibly bizarre to be looking at him and seeing blond hair again, to see silvery grey eyes rather than brown when he turned away from the window to look at me when I entered. I had loved him so much while he was in my body that I could almost pretend that the Draco I was seeing now – the real Draco – was the guy I had spent seven years hating and not the man I'd fallen for over the last few weeks. During our brief time together, it had been for one night only that I'd loved him like this. The rest of the time, he'd been me. I could look at him now and forget what had happened between us, almost as if it was a surreal dream and think only of the insults and pain he'd caused me.

At least, that was what the logical part of my brain was trying to tell me. The physical reaction occurring inside my body told a different story. The sight of his pale ivory skin against his black t-shirt, his messy blond hair falling into his eyes, seemed to be drawing me towards him. I was hyper aware of everything about him, from the way his neck moved when he swallowed to the small scar that ran across his forearm, gotten long ago on the Quidditch pitch. Despite the anger I felt, the things I wanted to yell at him, I also wanted him to pull me into his arms and tell me that everything he had said had been a lie. I wanted him to touch me so badly that it was an ache deep down in every cell of my being. When I walked towards the sofa, he sat up straight and his eyes found mine.

"Hermione" he murmured.

I tried to ignore the flutter of butterflies in my stomach that the use of my name produced. What was he doing? Why hadn't he reverted to calling me mudblood Granger? Why the hell was he even sitting here waiting for me? If he was trying to play another game with me then I wasn't going to stand for it. Being hurt once was understandable, twice would be foolish. Breaking his gaze, I walked towards my bedroom.

"Hermione wait."

He sounded so tired, so broken, that I couldn't help but stop. Even though I knew I was being stupid.

"What do you want?" I asked harshly, overcompensating for my moment of weakness.

"I – just… wanted to hear your voice."

I spun round to face him, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"Excuse me? Do you actually think you can pull that on me?" I demanded. I couldn't believe he was still at it. Surely he'd hurt me enough?

"No." Draco kept his eyes fixed on the ground. He didn't say anything else.

I was suddenly filled with a desire to hear _his_ voice.

"What are you even doing here?" I yelled at him, half angry, half desperate. Even as I was shouting I knew that it wasn't so much as to cause him pain in return, but to make him look up at me. I wanted his attention. I felt sick with myself.

"I came to wait" he said, still looking down. His hands were twisted in his lap.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "Well wait someplace else!"

"There isn't anywhere else."

It was tearing me up to see him looking so lost. But it was all part of the act, right? There was no way in hell I was comforting him, even though I knew that in three steps I could be across the room and in his arms. Have his body pressed against mine, warm and solid, his arms around me, my head tucked up under his chin. _Stop it._ I told myself. _He hates you. He's trying to mess you up even more than he already has. _

"Well you can at least go to your room" I said finally. I was sure I would get to a point where I could hate him back, where I would never want to see his face again. Right now, I just needed to be away from him. Everything was too confusing. Knowing one thing, thinking another. I was too confused to make any sense of my emotions right now.

"Won't you stay with me?" He asked, his voice low.

My heart stuttered at his words. I couldn't believe he was actually asking me this. He wanted me to stay with him. He'd gone from telling me he loved me, to telling me it had all been a joke, to wanting me around him. His mood swings were giving me a headache. What right did he have to make me feel like this? Why was it suddenly acceptable for him to act like our earlier conversation in the bathroom hadn't occurred? He'd called me a mudblood and told me he'd used me. I was reminded of an old muggle phrase, _sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. _Whoever had first said that had obviously never been in love. Had obviously never met Draco Malfoy. His words had hurt me more than any torture I'd endured during the War.

"Just – fuck off" I shouted. "Leave me the fuck alone!"

Draco's head jerked upwards. He seemed as shocked by my course language as I was.

"Hermione, listen –"

"No _you_ listen!" I told him, anger flaring up inside me. The simmering resentment and fury I'd been feeling all night boiled over now, like a volcanic eruption. There was no way I could stop it even if I wanted to. "You might have had your fun with me before, but it's over now. You won, okay? You made me fall in love with you, you got me into bed. The plan worked. But if you think I'm going to spend _one minute _in a room with you now I know the truth you've got another thing coming. You're a low life just like your father and I'm having nothing more to do with you. I would say I feel sorry for you, but I hate you too much to pity you!"

Draco was watching me with what I could only describe as a tortured expression, though that made absolutely no sense.

"I guess I deserved that" he said quietly.

I laughed bitterly. "Oh, you deserve a lot more than that."

He pressed his palms against his eyes and groaned, his head dropping into his hands. "I never deserve to see you again after the things I said. Luckily for me, I think I'll be getting that wish."

I paused, confused. "What are you talking about? Dumbledore hasn't expelled you has he?"

The thought didn't make me feel triumphant like it should have, but empty.

"Dumbledore's gone. I imagine my father will be here soon."

I eyed the top of his head suspiciously. What was he going on about his father for? His dad was in Azkaban. I would have said he was becoming unhinged if it wasn't for the dull certainty in his voice.

"Draco, your father's in prison…" I said nervously.

"Was" he corrected me. "My father _was_ in prison."

"I don't know why you're lying about this" I said in a small voice. "If you're trying to scare me…"

Something inside him seemed to break at my words. He jumped to his feet, his eyes the colour of the sky before a storm and took a furious step towards me.

"You're so stupid Hermione! Why can't you see what Ginny could?"

For the first time since entering the room I was frightened. I took a step back, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. At the same time, I couldn't help but reply. There was something inexorable about Draco, like I wouldn't ever be able to escape from him. Not really.

"What did Ginny see?"

"That I still loved you of course!" His chest was heaving up and down as he yelled at me, his eyes blazing. "You were so easily convinced! All I had to do was call you a mudblood and you ran away like nothing that had happened between us was real."

"What are you talking about?" I shouted back at him. He was saying he still loved me. He was saying exactly what I wanted him to say, but I couldn't believe it.

He ran a hand threw his hair. "I didn't want to break up with you" he said, his voice lowering in pitch, as if he'd only just become aware that he'd been yelling. "I would never hurt you unless I thought it was absolutely necessary. And my father breaking out of Azkaban threatening to harm you seemed to go under that heading."

"There's been a break out?" I murmured, unable to look away from him. The words he was saying seemed to make sense, but as if I was hearing them from far, far away. They could have been distorted by distance, not true at all.

"You stupid, stupid witch" he groaned. "Why else would I say those things to you?"

I felt an absurd rush of hope, like sunshine on a winter's day. "Because you hate me. Because it was all some game to you."

"Hermione you could never be just some game to me. You mean everything to me."

I knew that he was most likely lying, knew that this was probably some new trick to get me into bed. But I was too tired to resist. He was looking at me with such intensity that it sent shivers down my spine. I wanted him more than I had ever wanted him. I'd gone one day feeling what it would be like not to have him in my life and it had been terrible. Surely it wouldn't be so bad to go back to him? Now that I knew he was only pretending, I could distance myself from him. Protect myself emotionally, but still get to be near him. He was like a drug that I was addicted to, that I just couldn't say no to. I knew he was bad for me, but I couldn't stay away. Against my better judgement, I moved towards him.

"Are you telling the truth?" I asked, aware that it was a stupid question. Beyond stupid. As if he would say no.

"I can't prove it to you" he said, moving forward to meet me. "But yes."

"Draco" I whispered, as he reached out for me.

* * *

**Draco POV**

I pushed her up against the wall.

"Hermione" I growled, my lips working fiercely up her neck. I couldn't get enough of her. Her smell, her skin, the feel of her body on mine. I hadn't intended for this to happen when she had first come into the common room, but I lost all reason around her. In one swift movement I pinned her hands above her head, holding her wrists together with one hand, while my other gripped her hip, my nails digging into the sliver of flesh between her skirt and top as I pulled her towards me. She moaned into my mouth. It wasn't a "fuck me now" kind of sound like some girls make, but a sound of pure, desperate need, as acute as my own. It tipped me over the edge. My trousers became much too tight as the blood flowed to my groin and I pushed my knee between her thighs so I could grind my erection against her opening. Her hips began to work in unison with mine as she arched her back towards me. Her breasts pressed into my chest, soft through the fabric of my shirt and I knew that I had to feel her skin on me right that second. Both of my hands found their way down to her backside and then I was picking her up so that her legs were wrapped round my waist.

I crushed her back against the wall one last time, savouring the feel of her hot core touching my stomach. Her panties were wet, soaked through with her need for me and I was exultant that I was eliciting this kind of response from her. I wanted to make her scream my name over and over again, make her forget her own name as I shagged her senseless. The part of my brain that was asking why she was letting me do this after everything I'd done, especially as I hadn't really given a satisfactory excuse, was drowned out when she slipped her hands under my shirt and clawed her nails along my back.

"Hermione" I groaned, my tongue tracing its way down her collarbone to the opening of her blouse. I nipped the soft skin there with my teeth and she seemed to buckle into me.

"Draco" she mewed, her voice low and husky. Holy Jesus, it was sexy.

Without a second though I turned round and carried her over to the sofa with an inhuman speed, knowing that if I didn't take her soon I'd blow my load whether I wanted to or not. I lay her down on the cushions, pressing my body on top of hers so she was completely trapped beneath me. I knew I could overpower her physically, but I wanted the power that came from somebody wanting you more than anything else on earth in that one moment. I wanted her to feel like she would die if she didn't have me inside her. I wanted her to feel what I felt every time I looked at her. Without hesitation, my fingers began to unbutton her blouse and as each button came undone, revealing more and more of her beautiful, smooth skin, the lacy top of her bra, something came undone in my mind. I was burning for her; she was driving me crazy. I crashed my lips down onto hers, kissing her with such brutality it was sure to leave bruises. She never once made any indication that she wanted me to stop, just gripped the back of my shirt even tighter, one hand moving up my back until her fingers were knotted in my hair. I plunged my tongue into her mouth, tasting mint and something fruity all at once. Her warm breath enveloped me, making me want to explore every inch of her. Our tongues battled for dominance, dancing across each other, mine slowly tracing the line of her full, red lips until she bit my lower lip and suddenly the kiss became fast and hot.

It was then that the window exploded behind us, sending a gust of cold night air into the room.

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**Good? Bad? Going in the direction you hoped? I can't decide whether to go back to the rom/com of earlier chapters and get the angst over with or keep going with the drama. What do you guys think? Let me know! :) **


	14. Sins of the fathers

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts and favourites, it was so great getting back from holiday and seeing them all! I'm really sorry to everyone whose review I haven't replied to, i'm having some issues with my computer at the moment and it's not letting me click on certain things (This could just be me being completely stupid and un-technoligcal - the most likely explanation)! Anyway, sorry that the chapter is quite short, but I thought i'd post one just to show you that I haven't abandoned you all and then a longer one will be coming soon. Enjoy :) **

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**Hermione POV**

One minute I was pinned down on the couch, Draco's body on top of mine as his lips worked their way up my neck, the next he was shoving me away as hard as he could. I found myself being rolled to the side and a second later I landed on the floor with a crash, the impact knocking the breath out of me. Pain flew threw my body, the whole left hand side of my body feeling like it had been hit by a moving train.

"You have to get out! Now!" Draco was yelling at me with a desperate urgency.

I didn't understand what he was saying. All I could think about was the pain in my elbow. I tried to move my arm and a white hot pain shot up into my shoulder, making me wince. What had just happened? Surely the wall hadn't exploded had it? Into my mind came horrible flashbacks of the Battle of Hogwarts; stones crumbling down around me, the floor strewn with rubble as whole towers fell to pieces under the barrage of spells and fire.

"_Move_ Hermione!"

Something about his tone of voice registered in my brain and without making a conscious decision I began to crawl, dazed and disorientated, round behind the couch. A cold wind was blowing in through the window, bringing in the smell of the grounds, damp and green. I shivered. Had he really been telling the truth about the break out? Were we about to come face to face with Lucius Malfoy? I was at the point of calling out to ask Draco what the hell was happening when a different voice spoke.

"I rather hoped I would find you here Draco."

There was a small pause, in which I imagined what I couldn't see happening on the other side of the couch. Draco's father standing amongst the shards of glass in the destroyed shell of the window, his black cloak billowing in the breeze and a sneer on his face.

When he answered Draco sounded supremely uninterested, bored even. "Here as in here at Hogwarts? Or here as in on this plain of being?"

Lucius laughed without amusement. "You never did know when to show respect Draco."

"You never gave me an opportunity to do so Father. None of your actions were worthy of respect."

I bit my tongue at his words, silently begging him not to goad his father any further. Draco did this in class too, pushing teachers until they snapped and either docked points or gave him the ugliest detention they could think of. He was never rowdy, or particularly disruptive in the way that Crabbe and Goyle were, but he always managed to be patronising and insulting even to the Professors he appeared to like.

"I wouldn't be so flippant if I were you" said Lucius coldly. "Or that mudblood girlfriend of yours is unlikely to live till dawn."

I felt a flare of anger at his words, followed by a flowering sensation of panic. Did this mean he knew about me and Draco? How was that even possible? He'd been locked up in Azkaban for the last year. He couldn't have come here with the express purpose of killing me. It was absurd. A cold dread began to run through my veins as I realised the danger of the situation. I didn't even have my wand.

Draco's next words were like a stab through the chest.

"Kill her for all I care. It was only a game."

I froze, my whole body feeling like it had just been doused in ice. He couldn't mean that. _He couldn't_. Even if he had never felt anything for me, he'd switched sides during the War. He wasn't an evil person. Allowing his father to kill me for his own sadistic pleasure was beyond him. Besides, he'd only moments ago told me to hide, right? My heart rate began to return to normal as logic kicked in. He'd pushed me away from him, gotten me behind the couch before his father could see me. He was protecting me. Making sure that his father thought there was only him in the room. Why would he do that? Unless…

"And what kind of game would that be?"

I could sense his shrug. "The usual. Got her into bed, made her believe I had feelings for her, then told her it had all been a joke."

"Why should I believe that?" Lucius demanded. "I have reliable informants who tell me that you were _falling in love_." The last three words were said with complete contempt.

"Well you don't see her here do you? She's probably still in the toilet where I left her, crying her eyes out."

Despite the fact that I was in real danger – I had no doubt that Malfoy senior would actually try to kill me if he discovered me – I was experiencing a moment of giddy happiness. Draco was lying to save me. Maybe he really had been telling the truth; breaking up with me to protect me from his insane fugitive father. I mean, now that his father was actually _here_, the story was a million times more believable. Our fight in the bathroom suddenly took on a whole new meaning. I remembered the way he closed his eyes before he yelled at me, like he was trying to psyche himself up. And Ginny had thought he was lying. She'd listened to me tell her about the whole of our relationship and couldn't believe that it had only been a game to him.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I had to stop thinking about whether Draco loved me or not and start thinking about how to get us both out of here alive. Firstly, where on earth had we left our wands? I knew we'd both thrown them down when we'd started to make out, but where had they landed? I had a horrible feeling they were on the coffee table next to the window.

From what I could hear, Lucius seemed to be walking towards the fireplace. I hastily crawled round to the other side of the couch so he wouldn't see me.

"If that is the case" he drawled, "then you will have no objections to accompanying me."

I could now see the back of Draco's head. He was standing completely still facing his father, his back rigid.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"North."

"You don't trust me enough to tell me anything else?" I could hear the note of regret in Draco's voice, even if his father couldn't.

"You have never given me much reason in the past to think that you are loyal to me."

"That's because I'm not."

Without warning, Draco exploded into action. One minute he was stationary, the next he was running full stretch towards the open window, muscles rippling beneath his shirt. For one horrible moment I thought that he wasn't going to stop, just keep on going and leap out into the night. But then he was diving for our wands and dropping to the ground as Lucius shot a stunning curse over his head. He rolled to the side, putting an arm across his head to protect it from the glass that littered the floor. The curse hit a portrait on the opposite wall and it burst into flames, sending scraps of burning canvas floating down to the ground, the previous occupant of the picture moaning in agony. Then it made a final groaning noise and tipped forwards, slamming down onto the bookcase beneath it. The books caught alight, causing the fire to grow in heat and intensity. Lucius was backing away, not wanting to get burnt by the ash that was raining down. Amid the mayhem, I saw Draco slip his own wand into his jeans and pull his t-shirt down over it, hiding it from view. What on earth was he playing at? He needed it to defend himself! Then I realised what he was doing. His father couldn't see him with two wands. He'd know somebody else had been in the room with him.

"Get up boy" Lucius snarled. He remained on the other side of the room, away from the flames and the destruction.

Draco got unsteadily to his feet. His face was covered in dust from rolling on the floor and he had a bloody cut down one cheek. His hair shone gold in the firelight.

He took a step forward. "Father, I –"

Then his foot caught on an upturned corner of the rug and he tripped. He fell to the floor once again, sending the wand he was holding rolling behind the couch and into my waiting hands. The whole thing had seemed perfectly natural. Even I, who had never seen Draco do anything as undignified as to trip over in seven years at Hogwarts, would have believed it was an accident if it wasn't for the quick look he shot in my direction. He was leaving himself unarmed deliberately so he could give me a weapon.

Lucius was laughing, for real this time. He didn't suspect a thing. "Clumsy child. You didn't actually think you could get away from me did you?"

Draco raised his head and his expression became resigned. "No father."

"Get to your feet."

Draco got, keeping his eyes downcast. This was part of the act. Lucius needed to think he had won. He needed to let his guard down. I gripped my wand in my hand and began to inch round to the other side of the couch. I was determined not to let Draco down after he had made himself so vulnerable in order to make me safe.

"Even when you abandoned me during the War, you didn't think you'd truly escaped from me, did you?" Lucius asked condescendingly. "I have connections that even the Dark Lord was unaware of. His downfall was a setback, yes. But I will regain my former power."

"How?" Draco looked up then quickly down again, as if he were afraid to meet his father's eye. Lucius smirked.

"I have been in contact with the giants in the north. They are planning a rebellion. And I shall be the one who leads them to victory against the Ministry."

"But how did you escape from Azkaban?" Draco's voice had taken on a tinge of admiration. He was acting well, making his father believe he was impressed by his actions. The only sign that revealed his true feelings, that gave him away, was the way his hands were balled into fists at his sides.

"Many of the dementors are still on our side" said Lucius casually. "They are clever enough to see past the Dark Lord's demise and to the possibility of a new insurrection."

"I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't. Not when you were consorting with your precious Dumbledore. Where is he by the way?"

Draco shrugged. "Gone to the Ministry I think."

Lucius took a step towards the window. "Well then, we must be gone by the time he gets back."

I manoeuvred myself onto the balls of my feet so I would be ready to jump up and stun Lucius the second his back was turned.

"Why?" asked Draco, "why come back for me?"

I knew that, despite everything, he really did want to know. He wanted his father to tell him that he loved him, even though deep down he hated him for everything he'd done.

Lucius tipped his head to one side, considering. He spoke slowly. "Firstly, to teach you a lesson."

"A… lesson?" Draco looked up into his father's face and paled at the twisted grin he saw there. "Father, don't –"

"Crucio!"

I gasped in shock as Draco's body began to convulse, his limbs jerking forward and backward. After a few seconds he collapsed to the floor, still shuddering in pain. Lucius kept his wand trained on his son, smiling at the way Draco's face was contorting in agony. I felt hatred rise like bile in my throat, eclipsing my fear. He was such a demented bastard. How could he stand there and enjoy torturing his son? I couldn't bear to see Draco twitching like that, like his body was on fire. I'd been hit with the Cruciatus curse only twice in my life, both at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. The pain had been like nothing else on earth, so extreme, so intense, that you wanted to die rather than experience it for any second longer. Dumbledore had once told me that the feeling was different depending on who performed the curse. With Bellatrix, my mind had become unhinged, filled with disturbing images and shadows that threatened to consume every good thought I'd ever had. I didn't want to think about what Lucius would be doing to Draco. Because they had a connection anyway, by blood, the feelings would be automatically more concentrated. And I knew that Draco had had this curse used on him numerous times as a child, which meant that Lucius had probably pinpointed exactly where it was and what it was in his mind that made Draco feel the most pain. I'd had enough. I couldn't just sit by and watch Draco being half killed by his father.

Jumping to my feet, I pointed my wand at Lucius and screamed "stupefy!"

With a deft flick of his wrist he blocked the spell. Cursing, I dived to the side, trying to find cover again. Lucius spun round to face me, recognition and then disgust crossing his features.

"It barely surprises me that you lied Draco" he sneered, leaving his son crumpled on the floor, struggling for breath as he advanced on me instead. "And now you get to watch me murder your mudblood."

"You wish" I snarled. As Lucius flicked his wand at me and said "crucio" I yelled "expelliarmus". Our curses met in mid-air, bouncing off each other and sending fireworks of colour ricocheting around the room. I dropped to the floor and crawled quickly behind the couch again, hoping that he might be hit by one of the deflections. Reaching the other end, I peered round to see that instead of chasing me, Lucius had strode over to Draco and was pulling him up by his collar.

"I'd put down your wand if I were you" he said coldly.

"Why the hell would I do that?" I said, watching nervously as he dragged Draco into a standing position.

"Because if you don't, I kill him".

With a jolt of horror I realised that Lucius was pressing the blade of a small bone handled knife against his son's throat. Draco's eyes were still glazed over with pain, but they found mine and in that instant I knew that Lucius knew exactly what he was doing. Of course I was going to drop my wand. When the blade pressed in and drew blood, a small scarlet bead trickling down Draco's collar bone and beneath his shirt, I started forward.

"Stop!" I said, hurriedly placing my wand on the floor. "Please stop!"

Lucius smirked. "I thought you'd feel that way."

Moving forward, with Draco in front of him like a protective shield, he kicked my wand away into the corner of the room.

"Now" he said, releasing Draco and pushing him in my direction. "What am I going to do with you both?"

Draco staggered into me and I brought my arms up around him in order to stop him from collapsing. He was weak from the cruciatus curse, his body trembling from the exertion of movement.

"You wouldn't have actually killed him?" I whispered, horrified by the depths the man in front of me would sink to.

"I didn't need to" Lucius replied. "You are weak. You let your emotions rule you."

"Better that than have no emotions at all!" I told him.

"You won't think that when you're dead."

Lucius raised his wand. His face was a study in light and shadows, the flickering of the flames from the bookcase reflecting in his eyes. He looked completely insane, wild from the year he'd spent in Azkaban. It reminded me of the way Voldemort had looked, drunk with the conviction that he couldn't be killed. I pressed my face into Draco's shoulder, not wanting to look at Lucius as he killed me. My body felt like it had stopped working; the blood running sluggishly threw my veins. I was beyond scared, in that strange state of being that you only get during a battle, where time seems to slow and each second feels immeasurably precious.

"Avada –"

"Incarcerous!"

I saw a flash of light through my closed eyelids and then heard a heavy thud – the sound of a body dropping to the floor. Looking up, I saw Lucius tied up with ropes on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Draco had his wand out, pointed at him.

"Oh Draco!" I cried, throwing my arms around him. Dumbledore always said that it took great courage to stand up to your enemies, but even greater courage to stand up to your friends. I knew that for Draco, standing up to his father was even harder than both.

"I – need to sit down" he groaned, gently unwrapping my arms from around his neck and moving over to the couch. He sank down on to it, eyes closed. "Check if he's out cold will you?"

I was experiencing a horrible rush of adrenaline as all feeling returned; fear followed by dread followed by relief and happiness. Draco had saved me. Neither of us were dead. His father was tied up and everything he'd said to me earlier had been true. He did still love me. I prodded Lucius with my toe and when he didn't stir I bent down and picked up his wand.

"He's out for the count" I said.

"So" said Draco, opening his eyes and giving me the ghost of a grin. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yes" I said, walking over and sitting down next to him on the couch. It felt so good to say that out loud and know that it was true. Every awful word he'd said to me had been to save me rather than to hurt me. It hadn't all been a game to him, getting me in to bed in order to crush my heart; he genuinely did love me back. He loved me enough to choose me over his family. Draco reached over and took my hand.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

He tipped his head back and sighed. "Eventually we have to go and get McGonagall. Eventually my father will be taken back to Azkaban. Eventually we have to inform Dumbledore about the Giants."

"And right now?"

"Right now we just be" he said.

I leant my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his body next to mine.

Being seemed like a really good plan.

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**So, the general concensus was funny rather than angsty, so it will be heading back that way in the next few chapters. You know I love those reviews ;) **

**Also, how good was Deathly Hallows Part 2! I cry more with each time of watching x**


	15. All's well that ends well

**A/N: Again, a big thank you to all those who reviewed. Here's a longer chapter, as I promised :D **

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Draco POV:

"Miss Parkinson?"

"Here."

"Mr Crabbe?"

"Here."

"Mr Zabini?"

"Yo."

"Again, Mr Zabini?"

"Here sir."

"Better. Mr Malfoy?"

I paused from doodling a line of snitches on my parchment and looked up. "It's obvious we're here" I said in a carrying whisper, just loud enough so that Professor Binns would hear. "He can see us, can't he? Unless he's blind as well as boring."

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil erupted in giggles, turning round to shoot me flirtatious smiles. Blaise, looking mildly amused, rolled his eyes before muttering "don't push him" under his breath.

"Excuse me Mr Malfoy?" Professor Binns was frowning at me. "Would you care to repeat that?"

I gave a theatrical sigh. "God, now he's deaf as well as blind".

Crabbe and Goyle, probably not entirely understanding the joke but realising that I was talking back to a teacher began to guffaw noisily from the back row. Bemused, Blaise shook his head and returned to reading _Which Broomstick?_

"Enough of that!" snapped Professor Binns, rising noiselessly from his desk and gliding across the classroom towards me. "If you continue to disrupt my class Mr Malfoy I will be forced to send you to your head of house."

"Are you threatening me?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I am reprimanding you" Binns corrected.

"Well I don't feel particularly reprimanded" I said, stretching my legs out and tipping back lazily on my chair. "You're not very good at it, are you?"

I now had the attention of everyone in the room. Some of the Gryffindor's were looking at me in annoyance, though Merlin knew why. History of Magic was duller than watching Blaise try and pick out an outfit – this had to be more entertaining. The Slytherin's were smirking at me, encouraging me to distract Binns as long as possible. None of them would ask why I was suddenly acting up in lessons. They wouldn't care if there was something bothering me that was making me behave like this. All they cared about was missing class.

Professor Binns stiffened. "Very well Mr Malfoy, if you would like me to reprimand you properly then I will. You can go straight to Professor Snape and tell him that I sent you for talking back to me in class. He can assign you any punishment he deems fit."

"That's better" I smirked, scraping my chair back and getting to my feet. I kicked it out the way before heading for the front of the classroom. Blaise was looking at me quizzically. I gave him a half shrug, thinking that I'd talk to him later in the common room. I wasn't sure what I'd say to him, but I had all day to figure that out.

"Mr Malfoy?"

I turned back, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, err, _Professor_?"

Binns floated along the aisle between the desks until he was hovering next to me. Considering that he was a ghost, it was kind of impressive that he managed to look so unfrightening.

"Next time you act in such a rude manner I won't be so lenient" he said in a stern voice. "You will receive a week of detention if you ever behave like this again."

"Ok, now you're just overdoing it" I told him. "Major overkill."

Binns sighed. "Just get out."

"With pleasure."

I headed out into the corridor, making sure that I slammed the classroom door shut behind me as I left.

I wasn't entirely certain what had made me speak to him like that. I just knew that I couldn't have spent another minute sitting there listening to him go on about Goblin Rebellions of the fifteenth century without putting my hand through a wall. I guess it would have been easier to ask to go to the bathroom or tell him that I was ill, but I got a kick out of getting one over on him. And yeah, that probably didn't make me sound great, but hey. I think I deserved a bit of sympathy just for a day. In the last twenty four hours I'd pretend broken up with my girlfriend, had my estranged and completely deranged father break out of prison and hunt me down so I could join his army to overthrow the Ministry and I'd eventually had to curse him to stop him from killing previously mentioned girlfriend. Why the hell wasn't I resting in bed? Why hadn't I been given a medal? The answer to that was that McGonagall didn't want the rest of the school knowing that somebody had managed to break into Hogwarts. News of the jail break was now common knowledge, but people had great faith in Dumbledore and the Aurors and believed they would catch the escaped ex-death eaters in no time. Telling them that my father had blown up a wall and nearly killed a student would probably induce mass panic. So McGonagall had told me and Hermione to just go about our daily lives like nothing had happened until Dumbledore returned and decided what to do.

The only problem was, Hermione was in the Hospital Wing having her arm seen to and getting some "much needed rest" as Madame Pomfrey put it, so I was left to deal with my thoughts by myself. Firstly, I didn't know whether she had entirely forgiven me or not. I mean, after my father was unconscious, we'd curled up on the sofa together and sat there in silence until McGonagall had found us. I figured that if she was still mad at me she wouldn't have done that – plus there was the fact that we'd been making out earlier even when she didn't know about the whole escaped father thing, so I pretty much knew that she had feelings for me – but I still felt like I had some explaining to do. I had to let her know that none of the things I'd said in the bathroom had been true. I'd deliberately thought of the cruellest words to say so that I could push her away easily and without question. She needed to know that it had killed me to say it, that in reality I loved her a ridiculous amount considering how we'd only been together a couple of weeks. It was pathetic really.

On top of all that, I was trying to figure out how I felt about my father being sent back to prison. There was probably a load of psychology bullshit that explained my outburst in History of Magic: I was reacting to the pain my father had put me through, trying to push the world away because I was angry and didn't think anyone would understand how confusing it was to still love him even though he tortured me and deserved to be dead. But hey, I wasn't an expert or anything. What I really wanted to do was sit down and tell Blaise everything. He'd been the person I'd always gone to with problems about my dad and I was sure he'd know the right thing to say. But I wasn't sure if I should talk about the Switch yet, seeing as there was still two weeks until the end of term and I didn't know whether Dumbledore was going to change us back for that time or not.

So basically, my life kind of sucked right now. And that was why I was off to find the one person who I thought might be able to sort it all out.

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Hermione POV:

I was having the most vivid dream.

_Draco spun around, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. _

"_Weasley is an idiot!" _

"_On the contrary. I think that Ron is a man of feeling." _

_He grabbed my wrists in one swift movement and had me pinned against the wall, arms above my head. I winced I pain. _

"_You are arrogant and deficient" I hissed at him. _

_Draco's voice was low and deadly, his eyes burning with suppressed rage. "How am I deficient?" _

"_You pretend like you care about things… about me! When actually you're just a heartless Slytherin. I don't know why I ever trusted you." _

_The anger seemed to go out of him as quickly as it had come. _

"_Fine" he said coldly, letting go of my arms as if my touch burned him. "Go and be with your precious Weasley. But don't come running back to me when you realise what a good thing we had." _

"_Don't worry. It'll never happen" I spat, turning on my heel and marching away. _

"_Or when you find out what a rubbish shag he is!" Draco called after me. _

"_Won't happen either" I screamed over my shoulder. "All I'd be comparing him against would be you and God knows that wasn't great." _

_I knew I was being childish, playing into his hands by answering back, but right now I just wanted to hurt him as much as he'd hurt me. _

"_Pansy didn't think so" Draco shouted. "Or Cho, or Marietta, or – "_

_But I didn't get to hear who else he'd slept with as I'd rounded the corner and ran smack into Blaise. _

_The Slytherin boy grimaced in sympathy. "Is he off on one again?" _

"_What the hell is wrong with him?" I snarled. _

"_What the hell isn't wrong with him? I mean, first you have the demented father and the family legacy, then you have his inability to commit in relationships…" He started ticking things off on his fingers. "Then there's the fact that –" _

"_Ok ok, I get the point" I muttered. _

_Blaise broke off and grinned. "So what's up?" _

_I sighed. "Draco wants us to get back together again." _

"_And that involves yelling and all the anger because…?" _

"_Because he lied to me!" _

"_For your own good." _

_I made a frustrated noise and turned away from him. "Of course you're on his side." _

"_Hey hey hey" Blaise put a hand on my arm and gently pulled me round to face him again. "I'm on nobody's side, ok? I'm friends with both of you and I'm sitting firmly in the middle of all this." _

"_But you think it was ok that he lied to me for my own good?" _

"_Considering the situation, yeah, I do." _

_I rolled my eyes. "You are such a guy." _

_Blaise took his hand away and folded his arms. "What do you mean?" _

"_I'm the vulnerable little girl that needs protecting because I can't look after myself? I don't deserve to know the truth because there's no possible way that I might have been able to help?" _

"_That wasn't what Draco was thinking." _

"_Then what the hell was he thinking?" I demanded, my voice rising in pitch. "Because I'm having a pretty hard job trying to figure out why he didn't just tell me! I thought I could trust him to at least be honest with me!" _

"_Woah." Blaise held his hands up in a calm down kind of gesture. "You're thinking about this way too much Hermione. He didn't tell you the truth because he thought his father would hurt you. It wasn't because he didn't think you could fight, or because he didn't love you enough to let you in on his family secrets." _

_It got to me how reasonable Blaise was being about this. I knew that he was right, but I just wanted somebody to be mad at. Even though Draco had never fallen out of love with me, I still felt slightly angry with him; residual feelings from all the horrible things he'd said to me. It might sound stupid, but I couldn't help it. _

"_Look, I'll talk to you later ok?" I said. "I just need to be by myself for a while." _

All of a sudden the dream changed and I was sitting in the Great Hall, looking over at the Slytherin table.

_He slid his hand up her thigh, smirking at me from across the hall. Pansy leant in and pressed herself against him while he wrapped an arm around her waist and began kissing her neck. He kept his eyes on me while she slid over and claimed his lap and then his attention was completely taken up by her lips on his. _

_I looked down at my plate, feeling sick to my stomach. _

"_Mione, what's up?" _

_Ron was looking at me in concern and leant over to put his hand on mine. "You look ill." _

"_I'm fine" I muttered, making sure to avoid looking anywhere but at his face. _

"_Are you sure? I could take you up to the hospital wing?" _

"_I'm fine Ron." _

_He shrugged. "If you're sure. Are we still up for tonight then?"_

_I couldn't help but glance over to the Slytherin table. I couldn't see Draco's face because Pansy was blocking him. I could, however, see his hands in her hair, working their way down to her hips. I closed my eyes, fighting back the urge to cry._

"_Sure" I said softly. "I'll meet you in the entrance hall at seven." _

"_Cool." Ron grinned and stood up. He leant down to plant a kiss on my cheek before he left. "See you later babe." _

That scene faded and a new one began to form, the colour coalescing into shapes.

_I was in the Library, sitting opposite Blaise at one of the desks in the back corner. _

"_He's cut up about it" Blaise said, closing his copy of Advanced Transfiguration and looking at me seriously. "Seeing you and Weasley together kills him." _

"_I highly doubt that." _

"_Trust me. He's been unbearable to be around for the past few weeks. He yells at me when I don't tidy up the dorm room – I mean, he doesn't even sleep there anymore for Christ's sake – and if I so much as breathe loudly when he's trying to do homework I get hit with any number of jinxes." _

"_Look Blaise, it's nice of you to try and cheer me up, but I know you're not telling the truth." _

"_And why's that?" _

"_Do I really need to spell it out for you?" _

_Blaise shook his head. "You mean Pansy." _

_I nodded, trying not to let the hurt show on my face. _

"_He doesn't really like her you know. He's just trying to make you jealous." _

_I looked at him incredulously. "Jealous?"_

"_Yeah. He sees you and Weasley together and can't stand it. And in Draco's twisted, perverted mind, the way to get you back is to show you what you're missing." _

"_That's stupid" I said. _

"_That's what I told him too" Blaise agreed. "I said he should try talking to you instead of being a prat." _

_I smiled, for the first time in what seemed like ages. "Every time he tries to talk to me I kind of scream at him" I confessed. _

"_That's what I'm here to talk to you about. I think you should cut him some slack, Hermione. Just hear him out, ok?" _

Just then, a loud crashing sound brought me back into consciousness with a jerk. I sat bolt upright in bed, looking around in confusion.

"Only me dear" said Madame Pomfrey, bending down to pick up the bottle of Skelegrow and tin tray that she'd just dropped. "You go back to sleep. You need some rest."

I lay back down against the pillows, blinking to become used to the bright light that was pouring in through the windows. It must be around two o'clock. I couldn't have been to sleep for that long. I tried to shake away the feeling of uneasiness that had settled on my chest. The dream I'd been having had seemed so real – my fight with Draco, the way he'd been stuck to Pansy like glue, Blaise's desperate pleas that he did still like me.

I imagined that if I didn't forgive Draco, that would be what would happen in the future. He'd go back to Pansy, I'd try and start something up with Ron and both of us would hate it. I supposed that deep down in my brain there was a part of me that still resented Draco for the past few days and the hurt he had caused me. That was probably where the dream had come from, out of the worries and other feelings that I hadn't addressed properly in my waking hours. But the overriding emotion that I felt right now was happiness. I was beyond happy. Ecstatic. Draco loved me. He hadn't stopped loving me. And now that his father was back in prison – extra security this time – I felt secure in the knowledge that he would never have to break up with me for my own good again.

Of course, there were a few things that were dampening my rainbows and unicorns moment of delirium. For one thing, the Aurors were facing the other escaped death eaters and the giants in the north of the country today. Because their plan had been discovered early, it was unlikely that they would be prepared in any way. But still, victory would come at a cost and I wasn't naïve enough to believe that there wouldn't be fatalities. Secondly, my arm was unbelievably painful. Madame Pomfrey told me that I had broken the bone – she'd fixed that up in no time – but it was still bruised and swollen. Every time I rolled over or tried to pick something up I experienced an intense stabbing pain. Thirdly, I was back in my own body. Now, there were many reasons why this was a good thing; I would be able to make out with Draco without feeling severely disturbed or having to deal with certain_ things _that might come up. Also, I would get to see Crookshanks and Hagrid again and generally just appreciate the fact that I could wear dresses and put on make-up.

On the down side I'd have to deal with periods again, but more importantly I'd have to face Ron and Harry. This in itself wasn't scary, but the idea of telling them about me and Draco was terrifying. I wasn't sure if I would be able to lie to them now I was back to being me. They could usually read my face like a book and anyway, I didn't see why I should have to hide from them a relationship that made me so happy. I wasn't stupid. I knew that they would be outraged at first, but they'd understand in time, right? Once they saw how much Draco loved me in return, they couldn't possibly be against it. Still, I wasn't relishing the prospect of telling them.

Just then I heard Madame Pomfrey's voice raised in anger, coming from outside the curtains that were drawn around one side of my bed.

"Absolutely not! She needs her rest. It is essential if she is going to recover mentally!"

Wow. Obviously being attacked by your boyfriend's father made you instantly mentally unstable. I was sure that some Honeydukes chocolate would cure me though. What I was more worried about was the effect it would have had on Draco.

"Come on Madame Pomfrey, we won't be in there for long." That was Ginny's voice, sounding sickeningly sweet. "Go on, we promise we won't make any noise."

"No."

"_Please_ Madame Pomfrey? Please let us see her for just five minutes."

Us? I wondered who she was with. Perhaps Ron or Harry.

Madame Pomfrey seemed to be silently debating with herself. "Well, I suppose I could…"

Ginny squealed in excitement. "Thank you!"

"Keep your voice down, idiot."

Draco? I'd recognise that slightly superior but ever so sexy tone anywhere. What were Ginny and Draco doing here together?

* * *

Draco POV:

"Well. This still doesn't mean that I like you Malfoy."

I smirked, knowing that it would annoy her. "I'm sure you'll come to love me in time."

"I wouldn't count on it."

"Really? I've heard that my charms are impossible to ignore."

Ginny folded her arms. "You know where you can stick your charms…?"

I grimaced. "Somewhere highly unpleasant no doubt."

"Exactly" she grinned.

We were sitting on opposite desks in an empty classroom on the fourth floor. Ginny had been in the middle of Charms when I'd found her, but I'd told Professor Flitwick that McGonagall wanted to talk to her about helping organise the Yule Ball (not at all unbelievable considering how much she seemed to like to be in control) and he'd let her out without asking questions. I'd dragged her somewhat reluctantly to this room – "Why the hell would I go anywhere with you Malfoy? First you spend six years treating me like shit, then you break up with my best friend despite the fact that you obviously still love her and now you want to what exactly? Hold hands and go for a nice little walk?" – But eventually I'd managed to calm her down and tell her the whole story. It was bloody hard work, believe me. She seemed to have about ten questions in response to every single sentence I said, most of them about how Hermione was _feeling_ and what it was I wanted from a _relationship_ and If I thought my childhood was suppressing my true _personality_. Urgh. In fifteen minutes she had me feeling like I was pumped full of oestrogen and ready to try my hand at flower arranging. But ignoring all that, I had achieved what I set out to do. Get Ginny on my side, willing to come and speak to Hermione with me.

"So shall we go?" I asked, sliding off the desk and jerking my thumb towards the door.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Always have to be in control don't you Malfoy."

"I resent that."

She looked at me shrewdly. "So you weren't trying to stay in control when you broke it off with Hermione?"

"It wasn't about control. It was about keeping her safe."

She nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Good answer."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "You're not going to try and make me slip up and reveal my clandestine urge to destroy her life all the way to the hospital wing are you? That could get really tiresome."

Ginny hopped off the desk and walked past me out of the room. "Just because I said that I trust you doesn't mean that I do" she said over her shoulder.

I followed her out. "Then why are you still here?"

"Because I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt for the time being. And from my extensive background research you really do seem to love her."

"Extensive background research?" I asked, lengthening my stride so that I was walking next to her. "You're kidding, right?"

"You wish." She shot me a sidelong smile. "So _Draco_, what are your hobbies?"

I was appalled. "Now you're asking me what my hobbies are? And I thought this day couldn't get any duller."

She ignored this. "If you and Hermione sort things out and start dating properly, I suppose I'm going to have to spend time around you. I thought I'd try and get to know you a bit better."

"I guess that's not the worst idea in the world…" I mused out loud.

"It's a great idea" said Ginny sternly, "and you're going to answer my question right now unless you want me to perform the bat bogey hex on you."

I gulped. I'd seen first-hand the horror of Ginny's bat bogey hexes. There was this third year guy in Slytherin who apparently still had nightmares about being on the receiving end of it one time he'd got in her way and made her drop all her books. Ginny was a scary person. Not that I would admit this out loud of course.

I did my best to pull off a casual laugh. "As if you could."

"Are you betting that I couldn't? Do you want me to –"

"No, no" I said hurriedly, as Ginny began to pull out her wand. "I was about to answer anyway."

There was a small pause in which my pride shrivelled up and ran away with its tail between its legs. Ginny pocketed her wand again.

"So, I guess one of my hobbies is Quidditch" I said. "Being on the house team and all."

"We all know you're on the team Draco, you don't need to boast."

"I wasn't boasting, I was just stating a fact."

"Fine. Well, I like Quidditch too. Obviously. _Being on the house team and all._"

I raised an eyebrow at her dreadful impression of my voice. She had the courtesy to look slightly embarrassed.

"So, other than learning how to do crap impressions, what do you do with your spare time?" I asked her, mentally clocking up a point to myself.

"Shut up." She thought about my question for a minute. "Well, I like animals. My brother Charlie looks after Dragon's in Romania and I always thought that was a pretty cool job. Care of Magical Creatures is my favourite class."

"Do you have any pets?"

"I have a Pygmy Puff called Arnold and an owl called Buffy. How about you?"

"I have an owl. COMC is really your favourite class?"

"Yeah. No need to sound so incredulous."

I grinned. "I've just never found it that interesting."

"Maybe if you paid better attention you would do."

"You're not even in my class, how do you know if I pay attention or not?"

Ginny grinned back at me. "I know you, Malfoy. I bet you hang around at the back refusing to get your hands dirty."

"Well I wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good manicure looking after thestrals, or merlin knows what else Hagrid decides to inflict on us."

"You don't seriously get manicures do you?" Ginny asked, glancing down at my hands. She looked back up to find me smirking at her. "Right. Of course you don't."

"At least you can tell when I'm joking now" I said.

"See this wasn't so bad was it?" she said, giving me a friendly punch on the arm.

"What?"

"Getting to know each other!"

I considered. "I suppose there are several methods of torture that are probably worse than this."

She punched me again, but harder.

"Ok fine, telling you about myself was only mildly painful."

"Better" she smiled.

By this point we'd reached the doors leading in to the hospital wing. Ginny pushed them open confidently and strode inside.

"Hold up" I hissed at her, "you have to handle Madame Pomfrey really carefully."

"Watch and learn" she muttered back. "Madame Pomfrey?"

The matron was folding linen on the nearest bed and looked up in annoyance as we walked over to her. Every time I saw her I wanted to laugh at her hat. I didn't know what it was about it, but it was even funnier than watching Goyle try to hit on girls (his best chat up line revolved around him showing off his guns and then saying "how bout it?" – never yet proven to be successful).

"What do you need?" she asked waspishly. "You don't look ill. What's wrong?"

"We came to see Hermione" said Ginny brightly. "We both had free periods and we figured she'd want some company. Perhaps we could sit with her for a while?"

"Absolutely not!" said Madame Pomfrey, shaking her head firmly. "She needs her rest. It is essential if she is going to recover mentally!"

"Come on Madame Pomfrey, we won't be in there for long."

I wasn't entirely sure, but Ginny seemed to be batting her eyelashes. God help her. She didn't actually think that would work did she?

"Go on" she continued. "We promise we won't make any noise."

Madame Pomfrey folded her arms."No."

I stepped forward, about to turn on the charm, when Ginny bit down on her bottom lip. Were those _tears_ in her eyes?

"_Please_ Madame Pomfrey?" she said querulously. "Please let us see her for just five minutes."

Madame Pomfrey seemed to deflate at the sight of Ginny's emotion. "Well, I suppose I could…" She gestured towards the bed in the far corner that had a curtain surrounding it.

Huh. Maybe she was quite good at this kind of thing.

Ginny squealed in excitement, all previous troubles gone. "Thank you!"

We headed over towards the bed before Madame Pomfrey could stop us.

"Keep your voice down, idiot" I told her. "She'll have us out of here for sure."

"Whatever Draco. I have her eating out of my palm."

"So do you usually use tears to get what you want?" I asked her as we rounded the curtain. "You know, to get your grades moved up and stuff?"

Ginny didn't answer. She was looking at Hermione in concern. "Mione! Are you ok?"

I looked too. Hermione was sitting propped up in bed, her brown hair fanned out around her head like a halo. Her face seemed fine, other than the fact that she could probably do with some sleep. It was her arm that looked awful. Right from the wrist to the shoulder was a swirling pattern of purple and yellow bruises, staining her usually perfect skin. I winced just looking at them.

"I'm so sorry" I said, moving forward and taking her hand. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"_You_ did this?" said Ginny indignantly, looking ready to hit me again.

"It wasn't his fault, he was trying to get me to hide. He pushed me off the sofa so that his father wouldn't see me" said Hermione, her voice still slightly husky from sleep. I tried not to think about how sexy it sounded. I was going to be a good bed side visitor.

"Hmm, well I suppose that's ok then" Ginny conceded.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Hermione, letting my thumb run circles on her palm.

She smiled. "Never been better. Well, my arm is really painful, but it'll clear up in a couple of days."

"I'm glad. I really am sorry."

"I know" she said.

"For everything I mean."

She nodded. "I know that too."

"So you didn't really need me at all, did you?" said Ginny.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Draco asked me to come to explain his motives for lying to you and to help him apologise for the things he said."

"You don't need to apologise" Hermione told me, squeezing my hand. "I get why you did it."

"Can you please hear Ginny out?" I asked her, wanting to do this whether she appeared to have forgiven me or not. I needed her to understand properly.

"If you want."

"Ok Ginny" I said, turning to her and waving my hand. "Hit it."

She glared at me. "You can't just order me about like a dog you know. I am a human being."

"Oh for Christ's sake, just –"

Hermione squeezed my hand again, telling me to calm down. I took a deep breath.

"Please would you tell Hermione now?" I asked between gritted teeth.

Ginny smiled sweetly. "With pleasure."

So Ginny explained all about how panicked I'd felt when I'd received the letter from my father, how I knew he wouldn't stop until he'd made sure I never saw Hermione again – whether it meant killing her or killing me – how the only way to keep her safe seemed to be to distance myself from her as far as possible. How the words I'd said in the bathroom were the worst things I could possibly think of, the things I knew would hurt her most. How it had killed me to say them, but I knew I had to. I knew I couldn't have just told her the truth because she was so brave and wonderful that she would have wanted to face my father with me. And then she would have almost certainly have died instantly. Ginny also added some bits about the conversation we'd had when she came to see me. How she'd asked me all these questions and pushed me until she'd known that I did love her. How even I wasn't a good enough liar to keep things from her (I'd bitten my tongue at this point and reminded myself that she was doing me a favour). Hermione listened in silence, nodding in all the right places until Ginny was finished.

"So do you understand why I didn't tell you the truth?" I asked her, "It wasn't because I didn't trust you and it wasn't because I didn't want you as part of my life. It was literally the only thing I could think of on the spot to protect you."

"The weirdest thing is, I literally just dreamed this just a second ago" Hermione said. "Blaise was telling me the exact same thing."

"You had a dream about _Blaise_?" I said, momentarily distracted. I didn't know what the hell my best friend was doing in her subconscious, but I didn't like it.

She laughed. "Not a dirty dream or anything."

"Good" I said, thinking that I might kick his ass about it later anyways.

Hermione took my hand again. "Anyway, even though I guess I am a little bit angry and hurt still by what you said, that's only because I genuinely believed it at the time. I know you didn't mean it and I know you love me. I love you too. I just need maybe a day or two to get it all sorted in my mind."

"You really love me?" I asked, a grin beginning to spread across my face.

"I really love you" Hermione smiled.

"Oh Merlin, and I'm about to vomit" said Ginny, turning away from us with a sickened expression.

"Ginny! This is a very special moment" Hermione scolded her.

"_Very special moment_" Ginny mouthed at me, a smirk similar to my own crossing her lips. God, Hermione was just giving her ammunition to mock me.

"Erm, can we not talk about this in front of her?" I said to Hermione, indicating Ginny with a nod of my head.

"I thought it was your idea that she came in the first place?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah Draco, it was your big, clever idea" said Ginny in a cheerful voice.

"Well I'm starting to regret it."

Ginny looked affronted. "Hey mister, I was very helpful!"

"Maybe. But now you're totally killing the moment."

"That's me, Ginerva "gooseberry" Weasley."

I buried my face in Hermione's duvet and began to groan.

"Dear Lord, just get her out of here!" I moaned.

"Err, perhaps it would be best if you left me and Draco to it just for a little while Gin" said Hermione soothingly. "Thanks for coming, I really do appreciate it and Draco does too, though he probably won't tell you it now. I promise I'll talk to you later because I know you want to hear the whole story about the switch and I'll tell you everything."

This made me raise my head. "Everything?" I asked her with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. Hermione giggled.

"Well, maybe not that bit" she amended.

"Urgh! Too much information!" said Ginny, holding her hands to her ears. "I'm going already."

"You mean you don't want to see the pictures?" I called after her as she slipped round the curtain. "Don't worry" I added, seeing the concerned look on Hermione's face. "I didn't really take photos."

"I should hope not!" she said. Then a mischievous smile lit up her face. "This time anyway…"

I laughed, swinging my legs up on to the bed so that we were lying side by side. I gingerly put an arm around Hermione's shoulders, careful not to hurt her.

"So you know I've never done it in the hospital wing before" I murmured.

"That surprises me" she whispered back. "All that time you spent up here in third year pretending that Buckbeak had hurt you and you never got up to anything?"

"I was thirteen!"

"You are also a very big man whore."

"Fair point."

Hermione grinned and snuggled up closer to me, manoeuvring her arm so it was on top of the duvet and out of harm's way.

"So we're good again?" I asked her softly, knowing that in a few minutes Madame Pomfrey would be round those curtains and chasing me out into the corridor.

"Yes, we're very good. There's only one problem."

"Ginny?" I suggested.

"No!"

She thwacked me playfully with her good arm.

"Then what?" I asked.

"Dumbledore owled me. He said that we would be switching back into each other's bodies for the last two weeks of term. The spell should kick in around five o'clock tonight."

I looked down at my watch. It was ten to five. I groaned. I'd been expecting this, but I'd still half hoped that he would forget. Guess I wasn't getting laid for a little while longer then (and no, that wasn't the only thing on my mind, but Hermione had just mentioned something about sex and photographs. I was turned on and for good reason!).

"Another two weeks of being a girl" I said, trying not to sound too disappointed at the prospect.

"You think you should worry" Hermione said, grimacing. "It's nearly Christmas!"

"And that's worse for you than me because?" I asked.

"Christmas Draco! There will be Mistletoe everywhere! And at risk of swelling your already oversized ego up more than ever, girls constantly corner you under it! I've spent years of listening to Lavender and Parvati memorising your timetable and planning when to ambush you."

Hmm, the girl had a rather excellent point. There did seem to be something about me and Christmas that was an irresistible combination to the female sex.

"Well then" I said. "We'd better get as much practise in now as possible."

"But I'm not going to actually kiss them. That would be –"

"Ah ah" I said, cutting her off. "I said kissing, and I meant now."

"Yes sir!" Hermione giggled.

I leant down and captured her lips with my own. It looked like it was going to be a very merry Christmas after all.

* * *

**A/N: Christmas! Kind of the wrong season for it at the moment, but hey :) Gotta love it. **

**Also, would people like to see more of Blaise and Ginny? Or keep the story focused on Draco and Hermione? **


	16. Mistletoe and murmurs

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Enjoy :) **

* * *

Draco POV:

"I said no. Point blank. I refuse."

"But Harry why not?"

"Just no."

"Please? For me?"

"I said no and I mean it. You're not getting me to change my mind Gin!"

"Urgh!" Ginny turned away from Harry in annoyance, throwing her arms up into the air. "See what I have to deal with?" she asked me, stalking over to the one armchair left by the fire and throwing herself down into it.

"Yeah. Potter being menstrual" I muttered. I'd been sitting in the Gryffindor common room for the past hour watching Ginny try to convince Harry that wearing matching "Mr and Mrs" snowman outfits to the Yule Ball would be a good idea. And the sad thing was, she was utterly serious about it. The girl was completely and totally insane. What guy in their right mind would date her? If this was the kind of crap she pulled on Potter on a daily basis then I was shocked he hadn't killed her – or perhaps himself, which had the added bonus of doing us all a favour. Then again, this was Potter we were talking about. He wasn't exactly in his right mind, was he? Deluded into thinking he was a tragic little hero who was the apple of the public's eye. If the public was blind that is.

Still, I'd come to realise that he wasn't quite as dreadful company as I'd expected him to be. Aside from the fact that he was obsessed with what was morally correct – "But that wouldn't be _fair_, would it? I had to take Fang for a walk the last time, now it's your turn" … "No Hermione, I would never tamper with a bludger to win a Quidditch match, it's not fair play" … "It just isn't right. We can't let Neville get the blame for this when you know quite well it was us who lobbed that crocodile heart at Goyle" – and his annoying habit of trying to talk through all his emotional problems with me, he wasn't too bad. Especially if I could side-track him into talking about his horrible childhood with the Dursleys (always good for a laugh; apparently they kept him locked in a cupboard under the stairs and made him wear hand-me-downs) or reminiscing about what Hermione was like in first year before they made her relax a bit. This I stored up as ammunition to tease her with. She was ridiculously cute when I made fun of her, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head at every wild accusation I shot at her. We hadn't had much time together in the past few days as it was now the week before the Christmas holidays and with the decreasing workload – most professors were now just letting us play games of wizards chess and exploding snap in lessons – I had no excuse not to hang out with Harry and Ron at lunchtimes and in the evenings. Hermione had been roped into Blaise's preparations for a Slytherin House Christmas party; he had her sneaking down to the kitchens and nicking flaggons of butterbeer at every available moment and she had started to look really twitchy with the stress of it all every time I passed her in the corridor. Plus there was the fact that we now had Ginny gate-crashing any time we would have had alone together as she seemed to heartily enjoy denying me the chance of being on my own with my girlfriend.

"You do know that he's entirely justified in saying no, right?" I told her, keeping my voice low. "If anyone asked me to dress up as a snowman I'd jinx them before they could say _bubotuber pus_."

Ginny glared at me. "Shove off Malfoy."

"Keep it down" I snapped, glancing furtively around the common room. "I've managed to get through nearly a whole term without giving the game away and I'm not having you screw it up at the last minute."

"Oh I think it's pretty obvious you're not Hermione" she snapped, though she had lowered her voice. "You haven't got her walk down at all. You still saunter everywhere, like a great big bloody ego with legs."

"Well nobody else has figured it out" I scowled. "Those two over there are too dense to notice -" I jerked my head over at Harry and Ron, "and I doubt that anybody else pays that much attention to the way I walk."

Ginny made a "humphing" sound and folded her arms. I noticed with interest that she didn't jump to defend my insulting Potter.

"Trouble in Paradise hey?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she replied grumpily.

"Nothing" I said casually. "Just that you and scarhead don't seem to be as sickeningly loved up as you were a few weeks ago."

"People change" she said darkly. "People you thought you loved turn out to be unable to give you everything you need in return, despite the fact that you go out of your way to fit in with their life. Relationships can be so –"

"And on that note, I think I'll take my leave" I cut across her, hurriedly standing up. The last thing I needed was hearing Ginny's side of this bizarre lovers tiff (I'd already had Potter telling me he wasn't sure he and Ginny were going to last as she made too many demands of him. I'd told him to grow a pair – not quite in those exact words but the general sentiment had been the same – but seeing how high maintenance Ginny was I definitely didn't think that he was up to the challenge. She needed somebody who would give as good as he got).

"Where are you going?" Ron called over to me as I headed for the portrait hole at top speed.

"Meeting with McGonagall" I called back. Technically this was true. It just didn't start for another hour. Me and Hermione had planned to meet up before so we could spend some time together.

As it happened, I bumped into Hermione before reaching the head's dorms. She was carrying a large bag from which I could hear muffled squeaks and a vague tinkling sound and was looking furtive. When I said Hi, she started in surprise and nearly dropped the bag.

"Draco!" she said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me quickly down the corridor. "Thank Merlin you're here."

"Missed me that much?" I grinned. Wasn't my fault I had this effect on women.

"What?" she said abstractedly. "Oh – yes, I've missed you lots. But you have _got_ to help me out! Blaise has gone completely insane over this party, I'm serious, he's losing it. He's got me smuggling live fairies!"

I burst out laughing at the half disapproving, half shifty look on her face as she tried to hide the squirming bag from a group of passing first years by putting it behind her back.

"Smuggling? You make it sound like they're a Class A non-tradable magical creature."

"Well we're definitely breaking a school rule" she continued, quickening her pace as we reached the door leading into our dormitory. "He stole these from a box outside Hagrid's hut – he was probably going to use them in a lesson or something – and has given them to me to store! I can't believe he's acting so irresponsibly as to steal from a teacher and then ask his best friend to act as stock keeper of his ill-gotten gains! Snowflakes" she added, and the door to our common room swung open.

Once we were safely inside and the fairies were ensconced inside her wardrobe, we sat down on the sofa and Hermione closed her eyes.

"What should I tell him?" She asked me desperately. "I can't carry on like this. Yesterday I had to pick up a crate of fire whiskey which he sneaked in from the Hogs Head. The day before that I was supposed to be rounding up first years to act as waiters – although I suspect what he really wanted them to do was tidy up the smashed bottles and vomit which he assures me will be everywhere – so I point blank refused. Next he'll probably want me to pop down to the Giant Squid and ask if he can DJ on the night."

"DJ?" I asked, bewildered.

"It's a muggle thing" she said impatiently. "The point is I refuse to do his dirty work for him anymore."

"But he doesn't think it _is_ dirty work" I told her. "He's most likely under the impression that he's giving me a treat."

"So you'd enjoy handling contraband items and collecting together enough alcohol to fell a giant would you?" she demanded.

"When you put it like that…" I tailed off, grinning. "Look. Me and Blaise organise parties all the time. I don't mind going to the Hogshead or nicking stuff from around school –"

"Draco!" Hermione looked scandalised.

"Well come on, it's not like Hagrid's going to miss a couple of fairies is it?"

"That's utterly beside the point."

I rolled my eyes. "Look, what I'm trying to say – although all I seem to be achieving is digging myself further and further into a hole – is that Blaise isn't just going to stop asking you to do this stuff because we usually work as a team. In fact, he's probably under the assumption that you have some crazy ass but incredibly cool idea that you're going to spring on him at the last minute."

"And why on earth would he think that?" Said Hermione with a stern look, akin to the ones I received from McGonagall on a daily basis. Not a pleasant experience seeing that on my own face, I can tell you. Which reminded me – our meeting started in ten minutes.

"Well" I said, "let's just say that last year I managed to convince two Ravenclaw girls to come wearing nothing but an invisibility cloak…"

And yes, I was going to go down as a Hogwart's legend after that one.

"That's disgusting!" Hermione cried, but I could tell from the way her lips twitched that she was at least 1/3 amused.

"That's what you've got to contend with" I told her. "And what Blaise will be expecting. Anyway, I can help you come up with something equally awesome later. We've got to go."

"Equally awesome?" Hermione muttered darkly. "Equally perverted more like."

* * *

Hermione POV:

After the meeting with McGonagall Draco had to go and meet up with Harry and Ron, whom he'd planned to help out with their Ancient Runes essay – due in the last day of term – which neither of them had started yet. As per usual. I sometimes wondered whether they would have passed their OWLs if it wasn't for all the notes I had lent them, but there was no use dwelling on their hitherto unseen ability to pull their fingers out when it really mattered.

"I can't believe they rope you in to doing all their homework for them without getting anything in return" Draco grumbled as we walked together along the fourth floor corridor. "I mean, I sometimes do Vincent and Greg's homework for them but I always make sure it comes at a price."

I rolled my eyes. "Typical Slytherin."

"Well what's the point in doing them a favour if I can't hold it over them? I do their Transfiguration essays; they clean out my cauldron after Potions. I help them through DADA; they take my letters up to the owlery for me."

"With favours, you're supposed to do it out of the goodness of your heart" I told him. Still, he had a point. Maybe I should start getting Harry and Ron to recruit a new member to S.P.E.W every time they wanted help. I wasn't about to say this out loud to Draco though, whose moral compass was dubious at the best of times.

As we walked down another flight of stairs (which changed direction while we were half way and deposited us on the Charms corridor instead of our original destination) the hallways suddenly became much busier, with people milling about exchanging gossip and notes or heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. Draco immediately took a step away from me so that we were still walking side by side but in a much more stand-offish way than before. We'd long ago decided that there was no point in avoiding each other completely as that would draw even more suspicion. As head boy and girl people expected to see us together on patrol, so as long as we made sure we looked like we weren't enjoying it, we were able to walk along together. Draco was soon hailed by Neville, who after shooting a furtive glance at me, began walking with us, making sure to keep on the side away from me.

"Have you finished that Transfiguration essay yet?" he asked Draco. "Can't believe it had to be three feet long, can you? I barely managed half a foot before I ran out of things to say."

Draco shot me a despairing look before replying to Neville. "Finished it days ago."

Neville groaned. "What did you write about? The only known disadvantage of human transfiguration that I could think of was getting stuck as whatever you change yourself into."

"What about mutations?" Draco suggested. "And the issue of reverting to the equivalent age of the creature you transform into. You know – you might be seventeen in human years but change yourself into a Dragon and you'll be barely more than a hatchling; they live to be so old in comparison."

"I never thought of that!" said Neville in awe, reaching inside his bag for a Quill and jotting down what Draco had said on the back of his hand. However funny it was watching Draco have to put up with Neville (not that I didn't like him, but he was worse than Harry and Ron when it came to asking for help with homework) I still needed to ask him something in private.

"Longbottom" I said in a cold voice, trying my best to pull off a sneer. "What in Merlin's name are you drivelling on about now?"

Neville turned brick red, but turned to me with a defiant expression. "None of your business Malfoy."

I felt a twist of guilt in my stomach for making him look so angry and flustered, but I had to keep in character. It bothered me all over again that my boyfriend hated the whole of my house so much, but I had resolved to work on that when, and only when, we were returned to our own bodies. It was too complicated right now.

"It is my business if you're going to continue to annoy me all the way to the Hall" I said loftily.

"There's no need for that kind of attitude Malfoy" said Draco, trying to keep the grin off his face. He loved it when I was forced into insulting my own friends. He on the other hand, seemed to have no qualms insulting Crabbe and Goyle whenever he saw them messing up in Potions – I'd noticed that Harry and Ron were enjoying the fact that I now seemed to be so active in antagonising the Slytherin's. What on earth they would think if they knew it was actually Draco taking the piss out of his own friends, I don't know. I shot him a look.

"Don't bother Mione" said Neville, seemingly unaware that Draco had sounded more sarcastic than anything else. "I'm off to the Library anyway. This essay isn't going to write itself."

Once he'd disappeared off into the crowd Draco sighed contentedly. "Ahh Longbottom. What a joy it is to see you dismiss him so effectively."

"I don't like doing it you know" I told him, keeping my voice low so nobody around us would hear what I was saying. "Being mean to people I've known for seven years. But I needed to ask you something."

Draco grinned at the sight of a second year Hufflepuff boy trying to bewitch a dungbomb to fly out of the window. "Ten points from Hufflepuff Smedley" he said lazily as we walked past. "And don't let me catch you doing it again." He then turned back to me and smiled. "Ask away."

I spluttered in outrage. "You just walked past two Slytherin's jinxing their friend's bag from behind and didn't dock any points at all! You're supposed to be judicial when handing out punishments and not favour your own house!"

Draco shrugged. "I didn't see them. Anyway, usually I would have helped that guy out and shown him how to do _Wingardium Leviosa_ – dungbombs are brilliant, annoy Filtch no end – but I figured you would have told him off. So I did."

"Sometimes you are impossible."

"Thank you."

I sighed. However much I loved Draco, he could be completely exasperating. I decided to move on to a different topic.

"Anyway" I said, "we need to talk about the Yule Ball."

"We've just spent _hours_ talking about it with McGonagall" Draco groaned, nodding at Ernie Macmillan who had just waved at him. "I hate that guy. What a prat."

"Ernie it lovely" I said in an undertone – we were just passing a knot of Slytherin fifth years who were shooting Draco filthy looks – "just because he can be slightly pompous at times doesn't mean he's not –"

"_Slightly pompous_? He could win an Order of Merlin First Class for being pompous. "

"Draco! Would you stop side-tracking me and just listen!" I said waspishly.

Looking around to make sure nobody was watching, Draco pushed me – gently – through an open door into the nearest classroom and shut it behind us with a flick of his wand.

"Calm down love" he said, walking forward and placing a hand on my waist. "What's up?"

"I'm just stressed I guess" I said, looking down into his (mine, but it was still odd to think that) brown eyes and biting on my bottom lip. "What with the party Blaise is trying to organise and having to make sure everything's ready for the Ball on Christmas Eve. I don't mean to snap at you."

"Don't worry about it, I'd rather have you snapping at me than not have you at all..." He then ruined the romantic effect by winking at me and pulling me against him with a suggestive "in my bed…". Bizarre though it was to be hit on by your own body – I didn't imagine that I could make my own face look quite as sexual as he was managing, it was rather unnerving actually, but perhaps I could practise when we switched back – I still liked the fact that I had a boyfriend (albeit in a girl's body) that was flirting with me. Not that I hadn't been flirted with before of course, Victor had always been very attentive and sweet and Ron often made bad attempts at complementing my hair or my eyes, but neither of them made me feel the butterfly sensation in my stomach that Draco's words produced every time.

I tried to swat him away. "What If somebody comes in!"

"This is the History of Magic classroom. Who the hell would come in out of lesson time? They might run in to Binns and have to endure several hours of mind numbing small talk about the history of Elfin Legislation."

"The history of Elfin Legislation is actually rather inter – " I began, but Draco rolled his eyes and cut me off by pushing me back against the wall so I was trapped under his body.

"Merlin, I can't wait to switch back" he murmured.

"I know" I agreed, slightly surprised that I was missing the sexual side of our relationship so much. I had always thought that conversation and closeness that didn't involve the physical side of things was more important in a relationship than sex, but the fact that me and Draco couldn't do anything… well, I was starting to appreciate the term "sexually frustrated" much more these days. Heaven knew what it was doing to my concentration. If this in any way distracted me from preparing for NEWT's I wouldn't be happy with Dumbledore.

"I have to get going" said Draco regretfully, pulling back slowly. "I said I'd meet Harry and Ron."

"Alright" I sighed. "They will flunk if you don't help them and God knows I don't need that on my conscience."

I straightened my tie while Draco smoothed down his skirt, and then we slipped back out into the bustling corridor. Almost instantly I was approached my Cho's friend Marietta, who halted me by placing a hand on my chest.

"Draco" she purred, "where are you off to in such a hurry?"

I threw a desperate look at Draco, who had stopped to watch and for some inexplicable reason was grinning.

"Um, my common room" I told her.

"I can't believe how close Christmas is" said Marietta with a tinkling laugh. She then looked up and her mouth formed a small "O" shape. "Mistletoe!" she cried, in what she obviously thought was an innocent voice. "Who knew we were standing right underneath some!"

"Oh fuck" I muttered, my revulsion winning against my dislike of foul language.

A small crowd had now formed around us, with Draco at the front, looking like he was enjoying the whole situation thoroughly. I made a mental note to hurt him later.

"Go on!" leered a Slytherin fourth year. "Kiss her then."

It was a general rule that if two people found themselves under the mistletoe between classes, everyone in the immediate vicinity would stop and watch, not letting the unfortunate couple move on until a kiss had occurred. Kissing that involved flourishes and the girl being bent backwards would earn cheers and pats on the back from the spectators, whereas embarrassed pecks on the lips would receive jeering and catcalls. People like Blaise seemed to regard it as a challenge to entertain the onlookers as much as possible and on two occasions I'd seen him pick girls up and spin them around. Another time he'd actually managed to undo a girl's bra before Professor McGonagall had hurried out of a nearby classroom and put a stop to it.

"Hurry up" joined in a redheaded Ravcenclaw girl. "We're waiting."

I shot a last frantic look at Draco, who mouthed "don't let me down" before turning back to focus on Marietta again. She was looking up at me like the Cat who'd got the cream – albeit a curly haired, slightly manic looking cat – and I silently cursed whoever it was that had decided Hogwarts should be decorated for the festive season. I mean, who really liked Christmas anyway? We should just skip straight to New Year and be done with it. Before the baying crowd could start a full blown chant of "kiss her, kiss her" (it had been known to happen; last week I'd seen a terrified looking second year boy unable to stand on tiptoes high enough to kiss the grinning sixth year in front of him) I bent down and caught Marietta's lips with my own. She immediately wrapped her arms around me, her nails – or horrible man grabbing claws – scraping the back of my neck. I shuddered at her hot breath in my mouth, the way she was clinging to me without a shred of decency, curling herself so she could press herself against as much of me as possible. I felt nauseated. Girls like her gave the rest of us a bad name. Reluctantly, I placed my hands on her waist and allowed her to direct the kiss, keeping my mouth firmly shut so she couldn't do with her tongue what she was clearly attempting to. When Draco had said "don't let me down" I assumed he meant he wanted me to keep up his reputation by giving a good show. I wasn't such a prude that I couldn't kiss Marietta for a couple of minutes and now that I'd got used to the way she was gyrating against my chest, it wasn't completely unbearable. The crowd around me was cheering, so I gathered I was giving them enough and didn't need to start feeling her up or something equally disgusting. After another lengthy moment in which Marietta's hands were edging dangerously close to the waist-band of my trousers, I pulled away. The onlookers let out a collective groan, but broke out in applause as I gave them a mock bow and forced my face into a grin.

"Not too shabby" the Slytherin boy – I thought his name might be Dervish – announced, unimpressed. "But not as good as the kiss I saw Zabini give Chang."

This kind of statement I would usually allow to pass unchallenged. In my own body I would simply have shot him a withering look and left. But I supposed that Draco would see this as an insult that he couldn't let go without comment. Sighing, I arranged my expression into one of amused superiority.

"Maybe if you stopped watching people kiss and got a bit of snogging done yourself you wouldn't feel the need to grade us" I told him. A ripple of laughter swept through the crowd and Dervish's face flushed in anger.

"Well from what I've heard _Malfoy_" he sneered, "You haven't been snogging anybody recently either. Rumour has it you've lost your touch. Haven't shagged a single girl all term."

I determinedly kept my eyes away from Draco, whose hand had moved to the pocket of his robes, where I was sure he kept his wand. The problem was, Dervish's accusation was perfectly true. Draco hadn't slept with anyone all term (well, excluding yours truly) because of the switch, and even though I was highly disapproving of his many "conquests" and lewd sexual history, I felt a strange need to defend him. Everyone was now staring at me, waiting for my reply. Many of the girls looked like they would quite happily throw themselves on me right now to prove Dervish wrong.

"The kind of girl's I sleep with don't shag and tell Dervish" I drawled. "I, unlike you, am able to attract anyone I wish, rather than desperate slags."

Theodore Nott, who I hadn't noticed standing at the back of the crowd, let out a nasty laugh. "You tell him Draco" he called loudly. The onlookers, most of whom were smirking at Dervish's discomfort were starting to wander away, obviously satisfied that I'd won the argument. Just as I was turning away too, something white hot shot past my ear. Spinning around I saw that Dervish had pulled his wand out, having just sent a curse in my direction. A few girls were screaming – apparently the curse had hit one of their bags which had split open, sending quills, books and parchments crashing to the floor – and everybody now turned back in the hope of witnessing a fight.

"Sectumsempra!" Dervish cried, and this time I had to dive out of the way to avoid the hex. I was shocked. Sectumsempra was a really horrible curse – one which I knew Harry had used on Draco in sixth year and had regretted ever since – and I couldn't believe Dervish was using it on me. Before I could so much as utter a disarming spell, Draco was rushing forward, a look of burning anger on his face, and was raising his wand.

"Levicorpus!" he roared. There was a blinding flash of white light and Dervish was hoisted up in the air by his ankle so he was left dangling helplessly above us.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco shouted, picking up Dervish's wand which had clattered to the floor and pocketing it. "Trying to jinx someone when their back is turned and using curses like Sectumsempra that cause serious harm! If – and right now it's a very big if – I ever let you down, you're coming straight with me to Snape. And a week's worth of detentions you worthless piece of –"

"Hermione!" I yelled, trying to cut him off before he completely lost his head. This was bad. The surrounding Gryffindor's were looking stunned to see who they thought was Hermione rushing to Malfoy's defence, using a nasty spell to disarm my attacker and then proceeding to vaunt aloud vehemently. A group of near-by girls had already put their heads together and were whispering furiously. I could hear a bit of what they were saying.

"Granger and _Malfoy_?"

"What do you think's going on?"

"Did you see how angry she looked when he kissed Marietta?"

"I bet they're doing it!"

No! This couldn't be happening! Harry and Ron would go mental if they heard rumours of this and I was adamant that I wasn't going to tell them what was going on between me and Draco until we'd switched back. I had to cut this rumour off in its tracks. Groaning, I picked myself up from the floor and did the only thing that seemed appropriate.

"Like I needed your help you filthy little mudblood!" I spat at Draco, putting as much malice into my voice as I could.

He looked momentarily shocked, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But after a quick look round at the faces of everyone in the corridor – the open mouths, the excitement of the girls – he seemed to cotton on.

"I didn't do it for you Malfoy" he said coldly. "He broke a school rule. I punished him."

"Well don't bother in future" I replied. "Being head with you is bad enough; I don't want to see your ugly face more than I have to."

"Oh that's rich coming from you!" Draco snarled, his eyes flashing in a very good imitation of anger. "I can't stand you ferret!"

I was filled with an all-consuming urge to laugh. Calling himself ferret must be costing him a lot. I don't think he'd ever gotten over the Moody incident. The group of girls were whispering again and I strained my ears to try and overhear them.

"… still hate each other then."

"Shame. I could have done with a scandal."

Satisfied that we'd done enough, but wanting to make absolutely sure, I fired once last insult at him.

"Keep away from me Granger. As it is I have to wash myself every time you get too close."

Though I say so myself, I was proud of that last one.

"You make me sick!" Draco called after me as I strode away down the corridor. I tried to stop myself from grinning – he really couldn't have sounded more like me. The only problem was I now couldn't ask him the question I'd wanted to. I'd figured that we could have got away with going to the Yule Ball together if we spread it around that McGonagall had made us for "inter house unity". Now we couldn't risk it. Though we seemed to have convinced those girls we were still mortal enemies, their curiosity had probably been piqued. Who was I supposed to ask now? Any girl I took would in all likelihood expect me to make-out with them all night and take them back to the head's dormitory for sex at Midnight (seeing as that's what I knew Draco had done every year up until now – Lavender and Parvati regularly mourned the fact he'd never asked them to go with him and spent hours at a time quizzing people like Cho – whom he had asked – to tell them what he was like in bed.) On the other hand, I was certain that Draco would not be happy with me going stag as this would imply he hadn't been able to get a date. I was going to have to think of something clever to solve this, but I wasn't unduly worried. It was what I did best.

* * *

Draco POV:

I couldn't fucking believe I was about to do this. Somebody stuff me in a pink tutu and just hand me over to _Witch Weekly_ right this minute because I wasn't ever getting my balls back after this. I was actually going to ask Weasley – I tried not to vomit in my mouth at the thought of him; freckles, gangling arms, carrot hair, vacant expression, vapid small talk – to be my date for the Yule Ball. Hermione had better give me sex at least three times a day when we switched back because she had a hell of a lot of grovelling to do for this one. We'd met back in the common room after our little fight in the corridor – I was supposed to be meeting Potter and Weasley, but I wanted to make sure she was alright after Dervish trying to hex her – and she'd said that because of the suspicion we might have aroused, we were going to have to ask other people to the ball. This was when she'd dropped the frankly nauseating bombshell that she wanted me to go with Ron.

"It's just logical!" she'd said. "Ask anyone else and they'll probably want to get with you and he'll get mad. Just say you want to go with him as friends. It's the easiest option!"

"It's the most horrendous and repulsive option I can think of!" I'd said, aghast.

But as always, Hermione had got her way. I just didn't seem to be able to say no to her. And now here I was, sitting in the Gryffindor common room with Ron sprawled out on the floor in front of me trying to write his essay and nothing to do but ask him to come to a bloody dance with me. Fuck it.

"Err, Ron?" I said, trying to keep the resignation out of my voice.

"What?" said Ron vaguely, not bothering to look up from his parchment.

"Can I ask you something?"

He nibbled on the end of his quill, still not really listening. "Sure."

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. "Would you like to come to the Yule Ball with me?"

Ron choked, having just stuffed the quill into his mouth as he jerked upwards in surprise.

"T – The ball?" he coughed, turning round to face me, his eyes wide.

"Yes" I said, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face and run away.

"Of course I will" he said, his voice suddenly soft. "Hermione, I –"

"Well I'm off to bed" I said hastily, seriously disliking the soppy expression he'd just adopted. He was _not _about to express his undying love for me. Not now, not ever.

"Don't you want to talk?" Ron asked, shuffling towards me on his knees as I backed away.

"Not particularly" I said. "I'm really tired."

"Hermione?"

I groaned inwardly at the adoring way he said the name. He was totally in love with my girlfriend.

"Yes?"

Ron smiled, his whole face lighting up. "I can't wait for the Christmas now."

Oh joy. Nor the fuck could I.

* * *

**Oh Christmas :D So many possibilities... hehe**


End file.
